


The Heart of the Truest Believer

by warriorSQ22



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Swan Queen Supernova 2019 (Once Upon a Time), UN-BETA'D so please don't kill me, also Tinkerbell and her fairy squad are here...briefly, hook is here but he isn't like...jarring...hopefully, neverland rewrite, rumple isn’t related to pan bc I say so, season 3 rewrite bc I love reimagining ouat :’)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-09-27 08:06:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 80,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20404423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/warriorSQ22/pseuds/warriorSQ22
Summary: Emma, Regina and the Charmings set off to Neverland to save Henry from the clutches of Pan. But complications among the group along with a magnetic magical connection arise between the pair. A connection that they both have trouble denying. Can they rescue Henry in time? Or will Pan succeed in obtaining the heart of the truest believer?





	1. Rage

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pearsonasnic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearsonasnic/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Heart of the Truest Believer [fanvid]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20499872) by [pearsonasnic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearsonasnic/pseuds/pearsonasnic). 

> This fic was such a journey. I've had the beginnings of it and multiple docs with notes written since I first joined the fandom back in 2016. It was so fun to write but also challenging merging the world of Disney's Pixie Hollow with this story. I genuinely hope that you all enjoy it and hey, thanks for giving my story a shot!
> 
> Special thanks go out to the supernova mods. Thank you for hosting this awesome event and for all the work you do!  
Thank you to all my friends who have been so encouraging and supportive with their kind words and writing sprint challenges that helped me get this story out here. Y'all truly are the best!
> 
> And last but not least my AH-MAZING partner for this supernova @pearsonasnic who did such a lovely trailer for my fic, I'm still in awe of her work and how she was able to work with my confusing scribbles :') GO GIVE HER VIDEO SOME LOVE!! <333

**** The floorboards of the Jolly Roger creak below Emma Swan’s shaky booted feet as the ship crests through foamy waves beating against its hull. She lifts a hand to her clammy forehead, squinting into the distance at the barely visible green glow of the portal they’d whisked through a few hours ago. The fluffy clouds in the Neverland skies gleam a harsh white against the brilliant sun shining down upon their little rescue team, the weather unchanging in the little time they’d been there. 

Mary Mar- the thought of the woman's _real_ name brings Emma's mind to a screeching halt along with her pacing. She winces, casting a glance towards the upper deck where _Snow White _and David were stationed with Captain Hook, not fully trusting their fates to the pirate who’d agreed to assist them at the eleventh hour. She blinks as the name replays in her mind and the guilt that follows makes her tear her eyes away. An exasperated sigh passes her lips as she scrubs a weary hand across her forehead, tired of the mental gymnastics she's had to work through since the curse broke. It nearly broke her _brain _acknowledging the fact that magic and fairytales were real but the one feat Emma simply could not accomplish was reconciling the woman she knew in the months before the curse broke with the one casting her soft motherly glances that threaten to drag her inscrutable number of insecurities to the surface.

_Parents_, she scoffs. She had _parents_ now! Part of her, a selfish part, wishes that this was all a fever dream. That she'd wake up the day after her birthday and find herself sprawled across her old couch with a hangover and unwanted sunlight streaming in through the blinds she forgot to close. Maybe that cupcake had had some sort of hallucinogen baked into it. It wouldn't be the first time she'd gotten herself into a mess with food bought from questionable establishments.

"Now's not the time for this," she chides herself softly. "We're here for Henry, focus on that."

At the mention of her son, Emma's gaze automatically flits towards his other mother.

Regina had been unnecessarily temperamental since boarding the ship. Not that Emma should have expected any different. She'd been casting insults left and right, her favourite verbal punching bag being Mary M- _Snow_, who she could drag into a heated argument at a moment's notice. With her endless supply of snarky remarks and fireballs, she'd threatened to hurtle one at the pirate or Snow every few minutes. They hadn’t even gone half an hour without some ridiculous argument popping up. It would be hilarious if Emma wasn’t legitimately concerned for their safety. The arguments had gotten annoying pretty quickly and David had decided that he'd needed to distract Snow in order to maintain a sense of calm as the hours dragged by.

Henry’s whereabouts was no doubt weighing heavily upon the minds of everyone present but Regina and Emma shared a special sort of anxiousness that manifested in the form of incessant pacing. The former Queen had walked the perimeter of both top and lower decks more times than Emma could count. Emma had never once seen the stoic, level headed Mayor this frazzled. Sure, she'd seen some measure of it when Henry had been trapped in the mines or when they had their shared explosive spats, but Regina had always managed to keep an unnerving air of calming superiority about her. It was certainly missing now since Regina looked like a ticking time bomb that no one knew how to carefully diffuse.

Emma’s boots scuff noisily across the worn wooden floorboards as she walks across the lower deck, perspiration beading on her forehead. Her stomach churns harshly, the discomfort jarring as she resumes her careful pacing, desperately trying to ignore the nausea sweeping over her as the vessel rocks and dips. She'd been holding out with some difficulty but breathing deeply and not walking too quickly seemed to help. She presses a hand across her stomach, unable to recall ever being_ this seasick_ in her life.

Could it be something she'd eaten at Granny’s that morning before all hell broke loose with the magical trigger that had almost decimated Storybrooke and Henry’s subsequent kidnapping? Sighing heavily, she casts her gaze out to sea. _ Just breathe,_ Emma instructs herself, _ you’ll be off this thing in no time._ She continues her careful pacing, fingers tightening along the wooden railing for support as anxious green eyes once again survey the never-ending stretch of blue sea surrounding them. 

"You doing alright down there, Swan?" Hook's voice breaks through her revere and Emma glances up at him. His eyes meet hers from the top deck and he shoots her a brief smile, steering the ship with his hooked hand. She nods in acknowledgement, something niggling at the back of her mind as she shoots a wary glance at the silent pawnbroker frozen like a statue staring hauntingly out at sea. They were both being surprisingly cooperative.

Emma didn’t understand Hook's motivations for being there with them. He’d deceived them all and gotten what he wanted; the magical bean to take him back to their original realm. At the spur of the moment, he’d used it instead to help them get to Neverland. On the other hand, Gold had expressed his desire to find Henry as some strange act of redemption. Between the two of them, Emma was having a hard time trying to suss out where a potential betrayal may come from. Nausea rocks through her system again and she swallows a few deep gulps of air, unwilling to draw attention to herself at the risk of breaking the blessed silence that had engulfed the group.

But silence on that vessel was fleeting at best. Minutes later, an outrageous shriek catches her attention from the upper deck as yet another scathing argument breaks out between Snow and Regina. Emma’s eyes briefly flicker up to the pair where David stands, a human shield between them, the tension on the vessel cresting to a deafening crescendo. She catches snippets of the yelling as the wind whips around them and the ship dips again, almost bringing her to her knees.

“ -- which is why we’re _ all _here!” Snow’s huffs, voice carrying imploringly over the wind. 

“I see.” Regina chuckles derisively. “Typical Snow. _ Of course, _you’d find a way to blame _me_ for Henry’s kidnapping.”

Snow grumbles, shaking her head. “That’s not what I -”

“Spare me your dramatics.”

“_I'__m _ dramatic?” Snow’s eyebrows rise as she gestures to Regina’s sparking magical fists. “You’re practically ready to run me through! Forget almost destroying Storybrooke a few hours ago, _ look at where we are!_”

“That trigger would have ended us all if I hadn’t acted quickly! I did everyone a _favour_.”

“Well _ maybe _ if you hadn’t been so paranoid to _ create _that trigger in the first place -”

“It was insurance.” Regina hisses, shoving at David’s protective arm to point accusingly at Snow. “The real question is _ how _ could those bumbling idiots possibly grab my son when _ you _and your idiot prince were right next to him!” Snow falters briefly at that, regretful eyes finding David’s. Regina shakes her head, eyes bouncing between the silent pair. “I was practically sacrificing myself by using magic to save us all, what's _your_ excuse?” She asks accusingly. 

Emma remembers that moment well, remembers the surge of wild magic whispering at her fingertips and the warmth of Regina’s magic melting into hers to direct it at the trigger. It's a sensation that had taken complete hold of her and had required a mountainous level of concentration. Nevertheless, she fumbled her way through it while under duress from her parents’ disapproving frowns. The sensations of using magic were not easily erased. They lingered on Emma’s body like invisible tattooed lines, continuously sinking into her skin. Before either of them had had time to recover from using such an alarming amount of magic in such a short space of time, Henry was nowhere to be found. His disappearance had occurred so suddenly that it had gone undetected long enough for the perpetrators to getaway.

"We..." Snow starts but Regina cuts her off.

“_You_ had a role in this!” She retorts sharply. “My _ son _is missing and it's -”

“We get it, Regina.” Snow snaps, gentle eyes hardening with remorse. “But raging at _us_ isn’t going to bring him back.”

Regina’s eyes narrow even further, if possible, but Emma’s had enough of the current conversation that was no doubt running in circles at this point. She's unable to focus on the rest of their bickering as her legs once again wobble beneath her. She grits her teeth, anger rising at the verbal sparring.

“Guys!” She addresses them sternly, cutting sharply through their squabble and garnering the attention of everyone on the deck above. “Knock it off.” The ship rocks again, thrusting them all forward and Emma sinks listlessly to her knees, unable to remain upright.

“Emma?” Mary Margaret calls, concern making her voice waver. She uses the distraction to bolt down the steps in record time towards the lower deck. In seconds Emma’s engulfed in motherly arms as the woman presses a warm palm to her forehead. Snow’s eyes widen and Emma shrinks away instinctively as she cups her face. “You're burning up!”

“I…” Emma struggles with her words, body involuntarily tensing against Mary Margaret’s as her eyes focus on the woman’s unnervingly sincere worried ones. “I'm fine...Mary Margaret.” She says as reassuringly as she can muster, wincing when Snow's expression lapses into a reluctant smile at the familiar name.

“Let's get you below deck.” Snow says, softly stroking Emma’s pale face. Emma smiles tightly, reluctantly accepting help to stand upright.

“I feel fine.” Emma brushes off the concern, that discomfort returning with Snow’s fussing. “It’s probably just a stomach bug.”

“Yes let's all focus on the Savior,” Regina interjects dryly, making her way towards the top of the stairs leading to the lower deck. She stands before them with her head held high, the picture of an unimpressed monarch. “Is the air too humid for your liking? Should we adjust the temperature of the weather to suit your fancy?” She sneers, glaring at the pair.

“Shut up Regina,” Emma grumbles, locking eyes with the former queen. Regina bristles, a raging retort ready on her lips but Emma cuts her off to address Snow. “But she's right, we’re not here to fuss over me.” Emma insists, moving away from Snow’s arms with a little difficulty as Snow reaches out to steady her. “We're all here for _ Henry_.”

At the mention of Henry’s name, everyone falls silent. Emma sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes as they each lose themselves in their respective thoughts. The cool ocean air whooshes between them and Snow reluctantly let go of Emma's hand. Regina huffs for the millionth time since their journey began and breaks the silence to address the pirate captaining the ship.

“Can this hunk of junk go any faster?” She asks disdainfully, folding her arms tightly across her chest. Hook scowls, eyes coolly sweeping over the tensed group before he answers.

“We've only been sailing for a few hours. It's going to be a little difficult getting to the island with -”

Regina rolls her eyes, immediately cutting him off. “The imp and I have _ magic_.” She intones icily, jutting a chin at the stationary Dark One staring pensively at the waves past the gangplank. “Even Snow’s _ spawn _ has magic.” Snow tenses at Emma's side. “_Use us_.”

Emma observes her mo- _Snow_, eyes roving over her abnormal stoic expression. She was the picture of unbothered, except for the fact that her fingers were now roughly digging into Emma's shoulders as her jaw visibly clenches. It's a reaction Emma had been adjusting to over those few weeks when the curse had finally broken. It was present when they asked for Gold’s help to find Regina and in the mines when Emma had recklessly jumped in to help Regina stop the trigger. It present now, once again making Emma's insides twist. 

Hook chuckles mirthfully, steering the ship with his hooked hand as he addresses Regina conversationally. “It's impossible to navigate these waters with magic alone, Luv. Relax and leave the sailing to the expert.”

Abrupt tingles spiral along Emma’s spine and her eyes shift, drawn like magnets to Regina's fists where purple energy crackles in a frenzy. Snow's fingers dig in even more at Emma's shoulders when she notices the magic too and Emma winces, shrugging so that Mary Margaret briefly releases her. 

The heat in the atmosphere slithers along the Savior’s arms and legs like pinpricks of lava dotting her skin but drawn towards that singular point of magic in Regina's hands. Emma's brows furrow, unable to make complete sense of it. Regina’s smile is charming, a dangerous glint in her dark eyes as she draws nearer to the pirate. There’s palpable energy around her. It makes the air around her shimmer, piquing Emma's curiosity from a deck below. 

“I'd hardly call you an expert when we’ve been sailing for hours without sight of our destination,” Regina says dismissively, inching towards Hook like a mighty predator. “Or are you simply here to lead us astray?”

Hook glares, reproach in his tone. “I'm here to get the lad back.”

“So you say.” Regina muses, eyes steely. “But maybe it would be in everyone’s best interest if I toss you overboard and taking command of this ship.”

Snow and her prince spring into action at the threat, David brandishing his sword as Snow swiftly makes her way back up the steps. Hook bristles at the threat, drawing his sword and holding it at arm’s length towards Regina.

Regina chuckles, dismissively flicking the tip of the sword away with a finger. “After all this time, it's amusing that you still think a mere trinket like this can stop me.”

“Do we _have_ to do this?” David asks tiredly, a weary set to his handsome face as he glances at Snow. "This is the _fourth_ showdown we've had since we portaled here."

“Regina, we're all on the same side.” Snow says, eyes steely yet imploring. Emma watches them from the lower deck, jaw tensing as both parties stare at each other.

The magic in Regina's fists fizzle and Regina growls as her hands begin to shake with that rage Emma was becoming familiar with. It’s a bit tempered at this point but Emma can almost taste it in the air as it fills the place with the promise of destruction. It's a siren call to Emma, something singing in her veins in response and urging her towards the top deck. Emma takes a shaky step forward then another, focusing on that insistent tugging low in her stomach as she steadily makes her way towards the feuding pair. Could it be her Savior instincts kicking in? For all her bluster, was Regina really about to harm someone?

“We're in this together are we?” Regina laughs icily, eyes flitting calculatingly from David's sword to Hook’s. “Cause I seem to recall being electrocuted within an inch of my life by _ this _ insignificant little cockroach before any of _ you _ bothered to show up.” Regina pauses, eyes widening slightly as they settle reproachfully on Snow. “Or maybe _ you _put him up to it.”

“I said, knock_ it off,_” Emma growls, moving till she’s standing in front of Regina. She shoves both David and Hook’s swords away, glancing briefly at her mo- _Snow_. “This isn't the time or the place.”

“Oh, I’d say it’s the perfect time and place.” Regina retorts and Emma scowls, faltering briefly when that incessant tug in her body stretches at the space between her brows and pounds with a beat of fierceness across her skull.

“The only thing you’ve all been doing since we set sail is arguing.” Emma grits out, hand shooting up to press against her aching forehead. She shoots them all a look of scathing disappointment. “I’m sick of it!”

“In case it's escaped your notice, the pirate practically helped those bumbling idiots _ kidnap _Henry.” Regina seethes, pointing an accusing finger at the pirate. “He’s a damn traitor!”

Emma whirls on Regina, just in time to see her twirl her right hand sending forth a swift burst of magic which envelopes Hook.

“Ah!” Hook garbles, eyes widening fearfully as he's launched off the gangplank.

Emma reacts on pure instinct, reaching out to grab Regina's tensed shoulders with shaky hands. Something surges beneath her skin, something wild that tickles the back of her skull and makes Emma sag forward. She pulls herself out of it at the last minute to see Hook hanging limply above the now slightly choppy sea waters and a very irate Regina glaring daggers at her.

“Stop it!” Emma hisses, a hand drifting down to Regina's sparking magical fist. The moment Emma makes contact Regina bristles. Anger wells up inside of the Savior, a wave of strange all-consuming anger that burbles hotly beneath her skin as her eyes briefly meet Hook’s. It simmers inside of her like a flare and seconds later, Regina's magic dissipates, dropping Hook back onto the deck with a harsh _thump. _She whirls on Emma, a wildness in her eyes and in the air humming around them that puts Emma at an absolute loss for words. She swallows hard, trying her best to shake off the strange intense negative emotion as Regina’s eyes bore into hers. “Killing Hook won't bring Henry back.” Emma says pointedly.

“Well, maybe it'll make _me_ feel better,” Regina answers, little more than a gritty whisper as she shakily steps back, roughly shoving Emma's hands away from her shoulders. Emma stumbles at the force of it, a little shaken as all of the anger swelling within her immediately floods away, leaving her muscles quivering with exhaustion. 

They're both breathing harshly, which is confusing all on its own as they glare at each other. Regina's eyes drop towards Emma’s hands then scan her from head to foot as that vein in her forehead makes an unnerving appearance. It causes Emma to draw back a little and her fists clench when Regina takes a threatening step towards her.

“Why the hell are you on his side?” Regina demands, a cool fire blazing in her eyes. “He traded Henry's life for a magic bean!”

“Which he just used to help us.” Emma points out unhelpfully, Regina growls.

“He's helping _ you_!” 

Emma can't exactly argue with that logic. Her eyes meet Hook’s as David and Snow help him up. His jaw clenches, eyes steely and ready to explode at Regina. But before he can cause more chaos, Emma rushes to cut him off. 

“We both want the same thing, Regina.”

“I doubt that,” Regina says sharply, taking another intimidating step towards the Savior. “I need you to stay out of my way.” She growls and Emma's spine tenses at the threat as she counters with a step forward to growl right back in Regina's face.

“Why don't you stay out of mine?”

Regina stiffens, chin defiantly jutting up as she regards Emma. Silence envelopes them, one that only breaks when a warm hand wraps around Emma's wrist and manually drags her away before her quivering fist can deck Regina in the face. 

“That's enough for one day.” Snow admonishes irritably, pulling Emma over to the steps and back down to the lower deck that had undoubtedly become their part of the ship. “I will not have you two killing each other before my grandson can be found.”

Emma immediately yanks her arm away, a strange emotion leftover from her sudden influx of rage bubbling within at being chastened by Mary Margaret. She makes eye contact with Regina from the lower deck and Regina huffs, dramatically turning on her heel.

“Henry's _ missing _Regina,” Emma calls after her. “and this is all we have so like it or not, we _need_ each other.”

A beat of silence punctuates the air before Regina replies. “The only thing I need from any of you is a wide berth.” She throws over her shoulder before stomping the rest of the way down the boarded steps towards the cabins beneath.

“I have half a mind to toss her off my ship, mate.” Hook massages his throat, sending a glare towards Regina's retreating form. 

“Good luck with that.” David snorts, resheathing his sword. “At least today you wont become fish food.”

Hook huffs, plucking his sword off the deck and resheathing it as well. His eyes wander out to sea, pausing on the horizon. “The air is too still.” He says, hurriedly turning to David. “That usually never bodes well here.”

David frowns, briefly glancing at Snow. “What does it usually mean then?”

Hook's lips twist, forehead creasing with worry. “It means that a storm is coming.”


	2. Storm

Dark clouds hang low in the sky as raindrops dot silent patterns aboard the ship. Within seconds it drenches the entire group scattered over the top and lower decks. The storm comes swiftly and with a raging intensity. The ship rocks at its mercy, propelled in the opposite direction they'd initially been travelling. Hook instructs as best as he can, giving orders to Emma, David and Snow on how to operate the rigging and manoeuver the sails. Emma's boots skid along the rain-slicked deck as she holds on for dear life to the rope tossed her way. She grits her teeth, ignoring that pounding in her head as Snow and David tug at the ropes with all their might, keeping them steady as the sails flutter helplessly in the wind.

Waves batter the ship, drenching them all in icy seawater as they scatter on deck, desperately trying to keep the ship afloat. Regina makes a reappearance followed closely by the Dark One who briefly instructs her on how to control the magic in the air surrounding the ship. The magic they summon glitters in the air around them, like gemstones shining brightly against the stark darkness of the blackened sky. Emma's eyes are continuously drawn to it, to the raw power crackling in Regina's fists and the equally rust colored magic coloring Gold's palms. The fluid movements Regina's hands and fingers make as they guide the strings of energy towards her intended target is intriguing. It stirs an overwhelming bout of curiosity within the Savior. Something surges warmly beneath her skin in response to the thought as she holds tightly onto the ropes with her waning strength, idly wondering what handling magic at that skill level would feel like.

A tense couple of minutes follow where all of their efforts seem useless against the raging sea. But with skillful precision, they're able to keep the ship afloat, riding out the effects for what feels like an eternity. When the ship isn’t threatening to topple over, Regina’s magic surrounds it, creating a calming bubble that cuts them off from the remaining intensity of the raging freak storm. The Dark One nods his approval, focusing his magic on the sky above them. In mere moments, the worst of the storm has subsided, giving way to cool skies and an eerily calm sea as they catch flashes of the orange glow of the sun dipping beneath the horizon in the distance. 

A collective breath of relief follows, exhaustion carrying most of them to the water slicked floorboards as the ocean air washes over the group, virtually chilling them to the core.

“That was no ordinary storm.” Hook heaves out, slightly straining against the wheel that steers the ship. He makes brief eye contact with David, then Emma. “Pan finally knows that we're here.” 

“The pirate is right.” Gold says, just as breathless. His haunted eyes settle on each of them, more chilling than the cold piercing Emma’s skin and threatening to delve deeper into her bones. “I suppose that was our official greeting.”

“Indeed,” Hook says ominously. “Welcome to Neverland.” He grumbles and it’s never sounded more like a threat to Emma's ears.

* * *

A few minutes float by as the group silently peel themselves off the floor, gingerly getting to their feet as their eyes collectively survey the now eerily calm sea. Emma grimaces down at her drenched clothes, wringing the excess water from her tank top as more of it spills out from her waterlogged boots. Regina growls, shirking off her drenched blue blazer with a frown while muttering a series of insults as Snow and David share a short kiss, whispering words of affection that Emma pretends she doesn't hear. She turns distractedly to Gold, noting that he was completely dry - not a drop of water clinging to his clothes. Before she can inquire about his unfair magical advantage, Hook breaks the silence of the stricken group.

“We're in the clear, for now at least.” He announces, shirking off his waterlogged leather jacket with a grimace. “So if everyone would follow me below deck.”

David wraps a strong, protective arm around Snow and holds the other out to Emma. She hesitates briefly, eyes flickering between his outstretched hand and his genuine half smile before nodding curtly and walking ahead of them, missing the way her parents' faces fall. Regina trails behind them, eyes trained ahead of the family where they're led down a couple of stairs and along a dark corridor bypassing a few abandoned rooms.

“You two can take the room on the left.” Hook instructs, pointing to the happy couple.

“I'm taking this one.” The Dark One interjects, pointing to the room at the furthest point down the corridor. It was the only other available one there, not counting the three abandoned rooms in the middle that were cordoned off for old battle equipment.

Regina steps forward, voice flinty when she speaks. “I’m not sharing a room with either of these people.”

"Tragic." Emma comments. "And here I was, hoping we could stay up all night braiding each other's hair."

Regina rolls her eyes. 

“There is one more room closer to my cabin,” Hook cuts in, eyes finding Emma’s. “It's a bit smaller than the ones here.”

“I suppose that it'll have to do,” Regina says ruefully. “At least I can call it mine for the meanwhile.”

“And mine.” Emma frowns, meeting Regina’s eyes. “I don't see any other rooms available”

“No.” Regina vetoes that immediately. “I'm not going to be stuck in a room with _ you _for the duration of our stay here.”

Emma's eyes narrow, chills sweeping up her spine from being completely drenched.

“I don't care what you want.” She counters, folding her arms to savor warmth. “I want to get out of these clothes and have a warm cup of tea and the sooner I can do that, the better.”

“You can stay with your mother and I.” David interjects, missing the look of surprise that flits across Emma's face. Her eyes bounce between the smiling pair, apparently at a loss for words when the pirate interjects.

“_Or _ you can always come to the Captain’s quarters with me, Luv.”

David's s eyes harden as an awkward silence descends upon the small group, but Hook doesn’t retract his proposal. Instead, he shrugs, shooting David a rakish grin that does not help the situation. 

“Well, I’m not waiting around for the dubious princess here to make a decision.” Regina interrupts, scowling at Emma. “Show me to my room, pirate”

With an incline of the head, Hook leads them sharply to the left, across a short turn and then down another lengthy musty corridor. This one held four rooms, the first two being bolted shut just like the previous two. Luckily for Emma, two of them at the end of the corridor opened when Hook twisted the locks. She lets out a breath of relief, having narrowly escaped rooming with her parents or their sworn enemy.

Regina claims the furthest room leaving Emma to take the one directly next to it, placing her in the middle of the corridor. With a few more steps, Hook presses on, leading them all down some more steps and into his captain’s quarters. 

Emma doesn't know what she expects to see. Perhaps a skeleton or two and tons of gold spilling messily from treasure chests. What meets her is a dimly lit room containing an anthology of encyclopedic books lining the shelves above a small mantelpiece along with maps and various declarations. Parchments in numerous states line the desks pushed to a corner and knick-knacks packed in small trunks pressed tightly against a makeshift walk-in closet. There's a small neatly arranged bed on the other side surrounded by a couple other trunks. Hook goes to the biggest trunk, one lined with gold trimming tucked beneath an opened port window and pops it open, revealing an array of what Emma can only describe as pirate clothes.

She scrunches her nose at the smell that permeates the dusty air, catching Hook tossing a red and black leather ensemble like the one he wore aside before bringing the rest of the trunk into view. “So you _do_ have more than one outfit.” She says cheekily.

Hook rolls his eyes, puffing his chest. “This is my signature look.” He raises an eyebrow. “Like how you wear that red leather jacket even when it’s blistering hot.”

“Take your awkward flirting somewhere I can't throw up,” Regina interjects disdainfully, sauntering over to the desk and gingerly picking up the biggest piece of parchment she could find.

“We’re _not_ flirting.” Emma feels the need to clarify, especially when David marches over to Hook with a glare that could mimic that of a kicked puppy. 

"You better not cross any more lines." David warns, eyes steely as he addresses Hook.

Hook smiles crookedly. "It's all in good humor, mate." He replies casually, eyes cutting towards Regina. “Hey, be careful with those.” He chastises, tossing a few loosely fitted shirts David’s way to distract him. “Men have died for far less.”

Regina's eyes narrow. “You’re welcomed to try.” She says smugly, snatching the parchment off the table and rolling it together decisively. “I'm taking this.”

“What is that?” Emma asks curiously, catching a glimpse of an oddly shaped island as Regina quickly folds the sturdy parchment.

“It’s a map of Neverland.” Hook clarifies, looking annoyed as he tosses a few tunics Emma’s way. She catches them and holds them up to her chest inquisitively. “My most recent one too. A priceless piece of parchment that would fetch a hefty number of gold pieces on the black market.”

Regina’s eyebrows rise. “Maybe a little magical focus on this map will help even _ you _find where we're going.”

"Any more jabs at my sailing and you can find yourself a new captain."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Regina shrugs.

"Considering that we're in the middle of the Neverland sea and none of us here can sail this thing I'd say that that would be a bad thing." David interjects. "How about we discuss our strategy for when we land?” He continues, quickly shrugging off his shirt and into one of the loose tunics. Snow tosses him a pair of leather pants.

“With my magical expertise, we should locate Henry and be out of this wretched place in no time.”

“I'm warning you, your majesty,” Hook says simply, tossing over a few more pairs of trousers to Snow which she holds up to Emma. Emma’s cheeks colour as she snatches them away. “It won't work.”

“I'll be the judge of that,” Regina answers, walking over to the trunk and picking at the remaining clothes. She wrinkles her nose, tossing the musty clothes aside. “I'm a mother on a mission.” She says, exiting the room with a flourish.

“She didn’t take anything.” Snow notes with a frown.

“The rest of you should change quickly.” Hook advises, shrugging his shirt off and quickly slipping into a new one. “Wouldn’t want anyone to catch pneumonia out here.”

Emma finds a slim fitting pair of leather trousers, piling it in her arms with the other tunics and turning on her heel to follow Regina down the corridor.

“Emma.” Snow stops her on her way out with a hand on her forearm. Emma tenses up but tries to quickly relax as Snow’s expression lapses into that kicked puppy look David was sporting earlier. “When you're finished settling in, come down to the kitchen. David and I are going to see what we can help Hook prepare dinner.”

* * *

Emma doesn’t make it to dinner that night. Instead, after changing into a loose-fitting tunic and trousers, she makes her way back towards the lower deck to continue her careful pacing. Her hands tremble as she inhales slow breaths, mind consumed with thoughts of Henry as she drapes the thin blanket she’d found on her bed over her trembling shoulders. She quickens her pace, vision blurring with stubborn tears that quickly gather in her eyes. What if they were already too late? What if Henry was…she abruptly stops the thought, quickening her pace as her body begins to warm up. If only they'd had some way to reassure them that Henry was okay, that he was alive and well and just patiently waiting to be rescued.

She swipes gruffly at those tears tumbling messily down her face, distracted for a mere moment at her spiralling thoughts when her shaky feet lead her directly into one of the tall poles attached to the fluttering sails above. Emma stumbles against it, forehead butting harshly against the heavy wood, making that pain in her head flare. She drops weakly onto her knees, clutching her forehead as she squeezes her eyes shut, a flurry of explicit leaving her mouth. 

Emma slumps wearily, back against the pole, tucking her entire body beneath the blanket as she sets her gaze upwards. Thousands of stars glitter back at her, looking almost ethereal caught in the dark velvet of the sky, stretching for countless miles in any direction. She marvels at just how large Neverland seems, a whole new world entirely separate from their world. But at least Henry was under the same sky and that thought comforts her just a little.

Snow and David find the Savior huddled against the pole what feels like only minutes later but may have been close to an hour. She’s frantically ushered into her cabin, teeth chattering even as she weakly protests. Receiving a scolding once again by her parents sets her on edge as they both pile more blankets upon her trembling body. Snow tends to a tiny cut on Emma's forehead with motherly ease, pretending it doesn't hurt when Emma flinches away from her touch. 

Emma can't help her reactions. She's jumpy, filled with a nervous energy that consumes her every waking moment that they remain suspended in the ship with no sight of land or Henry. Her heart aches, an ache that consumes her the longer she remains still. But she humours Snow, just for the duration of that night, remaining in bed where her feverish body quakes with a confusing array of symptoms that range from cold sweats to dizzy spells.

She’s kept in bed for the entirety of the next day, a feat that she protests vehemently. But Snow isn't having any of it. She’s stern and oh so intimidating when she wants to be and Emma finds herself begrudgingly allowing her mother to care for her.

Her stomach, however, won’t bend to her iron will. The bout of what she’s dubbed as seasickness doesn’t subside one bit. Instead, it flares at odd periods during the day, twisting Emma’s insides as her forehead pounds with probably the fiercest headache known to mankind. It’s an all-consuming type of pain that threatens to drive her to the edge when her parents begin acting like she’s fragile cargo and can’t so much as stand without toppling over.

She banishes them from her room that night when they begin arguing among themselves over who was going to stay in her cabin to watch over her. They mean well, of course, but they we're also a bit overbearing.

* * *

Before the end of the next day, Emma forces herself out of her cabin and onto the top deck. The pain flaring across her forehead eases with a makeshift ice pack consisting of frozen seaweed that David manages to scourge from beneath the waters during one of his bouts of fishing. _ Frozen seaweed,_ Emma muses, what an unexpected find.

Despite the sweltering heat, they’d travelled quite a distance but still hadn’t been able to find a trace of land let alone the people who’d kidnapped Henry. Greg and Tamara, the same strangers she’d automatically distrusted. Her hands form helpless fists, the thought filling her with anguish as the ship hurtles across the depths of the Neverland sea. 

_ Neverland._

Emma doesn't know when the hell she’d quit being surprised at the impossibilities presented to her. Nevermind their brief wraith hunting foray into the Enchanted Forest, they were actually in Neverland. Would they get to see Peter Pan and his troop of flying children? What about her favourite childhood fairy, the spritely Tinkerbell?

_ Ridiculous,_ her mind berates, automatically rejecting the thought. But she doesn't dismiss it entirely. The book Henry lugged around like it held the answers to life was real. She’d read it cover to cover even going so far as to google the title, disturbed that a book with such dark undertones was geared towards children. She hadn’t found it, of course. But that was because the book didn't exist in the real - err the_ land without magic._

She was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that she'd practically brought the book to life. She broke that curse cast twenty-eight years ago by the Evil Queen and found her birth parents, _ Snow White and Prince Charming._ She scoffs at the thought, wincing when she catches Mary Margaret’s soft motherly gaze.

It’s a shift in their dynamic that had felt so surreal. They’d gone from close roommates who’d spent almost a year getting to know each other to this awkward phase in a matter of days. Emma frowns. Was it right for her to mourn the loss of their old dynamic? To miss a friend who had morphed into something else entirely. A nosy yet caring friend who she’d been able to quickly open up to about some of her deep-seated insecurities. 

She breaks eye contact with Mary Margaret quickly, lest the woman is tempted to come over and try mending that chasm between them. It was odd having the mother she never grew up with know so much about her. Especially after she'd given up all thoughts of ever finding her parents again. Her eyes shift back towards the now slightly choppy sea waters as she sighs audibly. _ No point in dwelling on that now,_ she muses. They were here to save Henry and that took priority over everything else. 

Emma sits with her back to the waves, silently watching Hook steer the ship. David sits at the helm casting another line out into the ocean with Snow draped at his side, a pair of ancient-looking knitting needles and a ball of red yarn in her hands. They were both deep in conversation, occasionally glancing at Emma. 

Clearly, they were talking about her and not being discreet enough. A bout of unease coils tightly in Emma's stomach. What aspect of her deeply flawed personality were they analyzing today? Or were they still stuck in the past, contemplating the perfect innocent baby they’d both held in their arms and trying to reconcile that kid with the prickly adult she’d become?

“They’re just worried about you.” Hook breaks through her spiralling thoughts and Emma glances at him briefly before casting her gaze back towards her jean-clad knees. The ice pack falls from her hands towards her lap and she shrugs.

“Why? I’m not the one who’s missing.”

“Ah, I thought that might be where your mind was at,” Hook says sympathetically. “We’ll get to that island soon.”

“Not soon enough if you ask me,” Emma growls and Hook sighs, wiping a bead of perspiration from his forehead.

“I wouldn’t be so eager to get there if I were you, Swan.” He says warningly. “Not many can say that they’ve been to Neverland and lived to tell the tale.”

“Why? What’s on that island?”

Hook swallows thickly, his good hand drifting towards that flask he keeps tucked in his leather coat. “A demon.”

Emma frowns. “You mean Peter Pan?”

Hook bristles at the sound of the name but nods mutely, taking a swig from his flask. That haunted look she'd seen when they'd first mentioned that Henry had been taken to Neverland clouds his dark eyes and unsettles her. 

“I thought we’d be facing Greg and Tamara.” 

“They’re his lackeys.” Hook spits, anger dripping from his tone. “_Someone’s _ significantly refined his ways of kidnapping children.”

“Kidnapping...children,” Emma says slowly, memories of her favourite Peter Pan movie dulling in her mind’s eye. “You said not many have been to Neverland and lived. How come you have?”

Hook is pensive for a moment, taking another swig from his flask before heaving out a heavy breath.

"I was once a lost boy.” His eyes widen like he didn't mean to say those particular words and he corks his flask and sets it down.

“What?!” Emma exclaims, the cartoonish versions of the lost boys she remembers now taking on a menacing aura.

“It was a long time ago.” He dismisses it quickly. “A past I loathe remembering.”

“Were you also captured by Pan?”

“Captured.” He says, testing out the syllables of the word as he moves the steering on the ship. His good hand clutches that pendant hanging lowly on his chest. “I suppose I was.” 

“How did you escape?”

Hook laughs, but it’s hollow and forced. “Pure selfish luck.”

That's as much as he says on the topic, leaving Emma to mull over his cryptic reply. Silence lapses between them, one punctuated by the bashing of the waves against the hull of the ship as it continues along the temperamental sea. Hook’s eyes are stormy and Emma wonders at the horrors he could have faced on the island. Was Henry going through the same? Hook seemed reluctant to even mention Pan’s name let alone talk about his experience on the island and eventual escape.

“I don’t care if I have to fight a million Pans when I get to that island,” Emma says, standing shakily, determination filling her voice. “I’m not leaving this place without Henry.”

“Aye,” Hook says softly, eyes briefly meeting hers. “I understand.” 

“Do my parents know about your past?” Emma asks tentatively. “About Pan?”

“I told them on the first night.” Hook shoots her a sheepish smile. “You were unconscious.” 

“And yet no one thought to fill me in?” She grumbles. Did Regina know too? How did they take this news?

“I suppose that they didn’t want you to worry.” He shrugs. "Besides, the Evil Queen already threatened bodily harm if I got up to anything nefarious." He rolls his eyes. "It's so hard to redeem oneself nowadays."

Emma’s jaw clenches as she briefly side-eyes the couple. “We’re here for _ my son,_ I deserve to know our strategy for when we get to the island.”

“The strategy is simple,” Hook says, eyes briefly meeting hers. “Don’t die.” He looks back out to sea, clutching that silver pendant hanging lowly on his chest again. Emma’s eyebrow arches. It was a flashy trinket, a silver star-shaped pendant that glittered with an array of colours as the light shone upon it. It had to hold some kind of meaning.

“Where did you get that?” She asks curiously. Hook glances briefly at it before letting it go.

“It was given to me when I was just a lad like Henry, by a very important person in my life.” He admits, casting his gaze back across the ship. “It's made from stardust. Very rare.” It’s like a heavyweight has settled upon them with that admission. Hook doesn’t continue with an explanation so Emma decides to lighten the mood.

“A treasure from one of your previous lady loves?” Emma asks playfully and Hook’s expression falters. 

“Something like that.” He says, lips curling into the semblance of a smirk. "She called it some sort of emblem from an old religion, said it's for my protection."

Emma squints at him. "Didn't take you for the religious type."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Swan." He says mirthfully, shooting her an obnoxious wink. "Just say the word and we can amend that." 

Emma rolls her eyes. "Obviously this woman didn't 

"She was quite enamoured with me if you can believe that." He chuckles but it’s a bit forced to Emma, who was steadily beginning to get used to his insufferable bragging when it came to women he bedded.

A brief silence falls between them, one that Hook doesn't seem inclined to break. Instead, he clutches the pendant tighter and sighs, a regretful type of sigh that makes more questions spring to Emma's mind.

It’s an obvious sore point for the pirate captain but Emma feels no remorse in wanting to press more information out of him.

He’s saved from her line of further questioning when Snow announces that everyone should come below deck for dinner and Emma’s stomach twists at the thought. 

Snow links their arms together, an action so reminiscent of the woman that she’d first met that Emma falters long enough to get dragged along easily and ends up below deck with a small bowl of soup. It ends up being quite tasty, which isn’t a surprise to Emma since the woman’s Storybrooke persona probably still had her memories of cooking.

Snow’s eyes soften as Emma practically inhales the soup and bashfully asks for another round. It ends up being the only thing that Emma’s sensitive stomach doesn’t automatically reject and she considers it a small victory, 

Regina hadn’t joined them for dinner on their first day or any of the meals they'd shared since. Staying out of her way meant being thoroughly ignored, even when she walked past them in the corridor on her way towards the top deck. 

Snow had been vacillating between being worried about her starving herself in the name of martyrdom and for any numerous reasons from their lengthy and sordid past. Emma’s lost count of the many things she’d brought up throughout their meal. It ranged from never willingly being given hugs by Regina as a child to the memories of being scared senseless when the Mayor came to PTA meetings to the sabotage of a number of their rebel camps in the Enchanted Forest. It was exhausting keeping up with her fluctuating emotions and Emma’s eyes had begun to droop as the hours floated by.

Still, the talking had partially gotten Emma out of her foul mood and by the time they’d all decided to head to bed, Emma was mildly content, even as she staggers along the dark corridor back to her room with the return of a massive headache.

Regina’s door was still closed even then and Emma’s brows furrow as she stops just outside the cabin door. The woman was being stubborn and truly adhering to her plan to work alone. She’d been holed up in her cabin for the better part of that day, only coming outside that morning to get some fresh air and Emma was beginning to get antsy. Nevermind her almost crippling bouts of seasickness, she was genuinely worried that Regina was plotting to put a sizable hole in the ship just to spite the pirate.

She pauses before she knocks, hand hovering over the heavy wooden door. They hadn’t spoken since their little spat a few days ago and Emma was at a loss as to how to approach her.

Why was she even thinking so hard about this? She berates herself, twisting the rusted lock and barging her way into the sizable cabin. She knew the answer to her question even before she opened the door. Misery loves company, or so the saying goes. And only Regina could probably relate to the numerous emotions and thoughts tumbling through Emma’s overactive mind. 

Regina’s head snaps up from the desk she’d been bent over at Emma's abrupt entrance and her eyes narrow as she straightens her spine. “Honestly, do any of you know how to knock?” 

Emma blinks distractedly, taking in the sight of the room revealed. A slightly battered wardrobe with a wide mirror takes up the entire right wall while a shabby looking oak desk with two wooden chairs stood in the middle of the room. The porthole just above the bed in the far corner was opened, allowing in the late rays of the dying sun that gave the cabin a lighter feel. 

The major difference here was that that bed was an insanely comfortable Queen size bed with silky dark blue sheets. It took up most of the remaining space in the cabin, leaving little room for anything else. Where the hell was Emma's Queen sized bed? Was every surface of the cabin _recently_ dusted? Compared to this, Emma's was a sty. She idly wonders if Regina had gone on a cleaning spree. 

“Did they send you to babysit me, Miss Swan?” Regina asks again, eyes returning to the map she’d stolen a few days ago from Hook. Emma's eyes drift from Regina's immaculate blue blazer down to her well-pressed undershirt and finally down to her black slacks. They were dried by now but how the hell did they not have a damn wrinkle insight?

Emma's eyes narrow and instead of answering, she poses a question of her own. “How the hell are you so put together?”

Regina smirks, eyes slowly drifting from Emma's wrinkled grey tunic down to her leather pants before meeting Emma's gaze head-on. “You stink.”

“Yeah, I know.” Emma’s jaw ticks. “But we should be more focused on actually finding Henry.”

“I don’t see you trying anything to save him.” Regina retorts sharply, folding her arms.

“I’m here aren’t I?” 

“Yes, and utterly useless too, congratulations.”

Emma clenches her fists, letting out a shaky breath. “What have _ you _tried?” 

“Everything!” Regina huffs, severe frustration leaking into her tone. “Nothing works! My most advanced locator spells fizzle in smoke when I try using it on anything Henry owns.”

“Oh…” Emma frowns thoughtfully, not expecting that reply.

“I’ve tried mirrors, animal messages, messages in bottles, mind linking! Everything except…” Regina’s eyes widened, going to Emma's injured forehead.

Emma tenses a little at the attention, taking a hesitant step back to lean against the wall.

“Everything except?”

“Blood magic,” Regina says, eyes clearing like it's a revelation. “I bet that yours would locate Henry now that we’re here.”

Emma’s eyes widen. “B-Blood?! As in, a pint of _ my _blood?”

“Oh don’t be daft, Miss Swan. I’m not asking for a kidney. All I need is a drop.” She grins wickedly, producing a needle in a cloud of magical smoke. With a slink in her step, she advances on Emma like a mighty predator. “Or two, or _ three._”

Emma chuckles forcefully, that abnormal tingle returning to her skin as she folds her arms tightly across her chest. “No _ fucking _way.”

“It’s the best option we have right now.” Regina rationalizes, stopping just inches away from Emma. 

“Do you even know how to use that thing?” She asks nervously, eyes bouncing helplessly between the needle and Regina's eyes. 

“Yes,” Regina says dryly, eyes narrowing as a beat of silence passes between them. Then she smirks. “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little needle.” 

Emma grits her teeth, embarrassment colouring her face as her eyes once more drift down towards the aforementioned needle.

“Then I won’t tell you.”

Regina chuckles, a dark smoky sound that’s taunting to Emma’s ears.

“You are utterly ridiculous.” She marvels. “You face dragons, wraiths, imps and Evil Queens, pirates and realm travelling but you quiver at the sight of a needle?” She shakes her head. “Unbelievable.”

Emma shifts her weight to her other foot, shrugging widely. “I didn’t have the best experience with nurses growing up in foster care okay?” She admits ruefully, squeezing her eyes shut when Regina reaches out to grab ahold of her forearm.

Something surges tightly beneath neath her skin then quells as tingles spread along her arm. Emma swallows thickly as reginas eyes meet hers.

“There was one who…” Her face pales as she allows Regina to drag her over to the desk, stumbling before she’s pushed down onto the uncomfortable wooden chair. 

“Did she _ scare _ you?” Regina taunts, a slight curl to her lips as Emma glares.

“No.” She rebuts immediately. “Let’s just say that she did the procedure wrong and I spent the next few weeks with a blue arm.” Regina doesn’t reply, instead, her movements still and Emma squeezes her eyes shut, unable to maintain eye contact. “Come on, just do it.”

Regina's hands hover over her for a second before pressing lightly against Emma's arm, stirring something in her chest that makes her breath catch. Warmth blossoms against Emma's skin, that feverish rush of warmth that tugs so viscerally within her. She bites down on her lower lip, restricting a deep sigh of approval to a soft rumble in her throat as she keeps her body as still as possible.

The room is quiet as Regina works and Emma keeps her eyes closed, marvelling at the cool air swirling within the room as more tingles rush across her skin. It’s like an itch she wants to scratch but she resists. The scent of alcohol permeates the air when Regina touches her exposed arm, fingers light as she chooses a spot to sterilize. Emma really shouldn’t be that anxious, but it’s a childhood trauma that she never really got over.

Another beat of silence passes with Emma's leg bouncing gingerly against the desk, the need to continue her unnecessary ramblings almost overwhelming. A few seconds later Regina steps away and Emma’s eyes fly open. 

“You...you’re done.” She states blankly, eyes drifting to her practically untouched arm. “Already?”

“Yes." Regina answers, disposing of the needle as she holds up a small vial with Emma’s blood.

“Did you get enough?”

“Yes, Miss Swan.”

“But I didn’t…” _ feel anything,_ she finishes the sentence in her head, recalling the sensation that had tickled her arm as tingles spread along her skin. Her eyes find Regina’s. “You used magic.” Emma accuses and Regina rolls her eyes.

“Focus, Miss Swan.” She interjects, tilting the vial to produce a sizable drop as her magic fills the air with the intricate murmured words of an incantation Emma can’t hope to remember or replicate. “We're about to find my son.” 

“He's my son too.”

“Yes, I’m painfully aware that you birthed him.” Regina hisses, allowing the blood to hover over the map of Neverland she’d been pouring over as she closes her eyes. “Now shut up and let me concentrate.”

A few minutes pass by in companionable silence as Emma’s eyes once again survey the surprisingly cosy cabin.

“Where the hell did you get all of this stuff?” She grumbles, envious of the fully stocked wardrobe and a freaking side door in the corner leading into a _ functional _bathroom! Was this the only one on the entire ship? Emma was studiously blocking out the trauma of having to share a foul outdoor bathroom system near the bow on this medieval ship. Taking a bath had quickly become a nightmare and Regina had access to a modern one all to herself! “I’m coming in here to use this from now on.”

Regina rolls her eyes, taking a sip of the iced tea Emma now notices sitting on the desk next to the map alongside a half-eaten sandwich. _ A grilled chicken sandwich._ It wasn't a grilled cheese, but Emma's mouth salivated nonetheless. 

“I’m here to rescue my son, not live like a ruffian.”

“What the hell Regina?” She grumbles, stomach growling embarrassingly loud at the thought of her favourite food. “You're eating _ real _ food while the rest of us _ starve?_”

Regina shrugs. “Learn to use your magic as I do.”

Emma bristles, stumbling to her shaky feet. “No.”

Regina's eyes narrow. “Why the hell not?”

“I can't.” Emma turns away, eyes downcast as they focus on Regina's tiled floors? How the hell - right, magic. She looks up as she reaches the door, pausing to look at Regina as she pushes it open. “It’s better this way.”

“For who exactly?”

“Everyone.” 

“In case it’s escaped your notice, _ Savior,_” Regina emphasizes the title with significantly less venom than Emma’s accustomed. “We came to _ Neverland _ on a _ ship _ through a _ magical bean portal to_ find _ my son_.” She says slowly, returning to the condescending tone Emma knows well. “Magic is _ all _ around you, hell, it’s even _ inside _of you.” She gestures to Emma’s clenched fists. “If you can’t accept that then what the hell are you even doing here?”

Emma’s jaw tightens. “You wouldn't understand.”

“Emma doesn't _ need _ magic.” Snow butts in from the doorway causing Emma to startle at the sound of her voice. She narrowly misses clocking her mother with a wild fist as she awkwardly stumbles back, apologizing as Snow turns to address Regina. “And _ you _of all people shouldn't use it so willy nilly yourself, Regina.”

Regina bristles at the comment, abruptly closing the now glowing map. “I see.” She glances at Emma who refuses to meet her eyes. “Spare me your insufferable speech, Snow. I assure you that I _ don't _care.”

Snow huffs, turning her disapproving motherly gaze on Emma. “You need to rest.” She says softly, linking their arms. “I was just coming to your room to help -”

“Fluff the princess’s pillows?” Regina interjects dryly and Emma glares, cheeks reddening.

Snow rolls her eyes, stomping out of the room with Emma in tow and Emma sighs, resigned to her fate as Snow’s motherly hovering grounds her for the moment.

* * *

That night, Emma has even more difficulty sleeping on the tiny cot in her cabin. 

She turns onto her side, huffing when she thinks about that damn luxurious bed in Regina’s cabin. Squeezing her eyes shut, she clenches her fists against the thin sheets. It was easier to fall asleep for those first few days when she was too out of it to even think but now her brain was eager to keep her up.

“It’s not fucking fair.” she laments pitifully, shifting again on the hard surface of the small bed. Tingles rush along her arms and down to her fingers and Emma’s eyes fly open. She yelps as bolts of magical energy swirl at her fingertips, building within her chest and rushing out into the air in a cloud of smoke that dissipates in mere seconds. Heart racing, she sits up against the wall, folding her legs as she stares down at her shaky hands.

She’d done it again. What would her parents think if she’d caused some sort of emergency on the ship because of magic she obviously can’t control? She folds her arms carefully against her chest, leaning her head back against the wall.

Emma doesn’t hear the sound of footsteps until they pause just outside of her cabin. Her breath hitches as she quickly leans forward to busily fan the last wisps of smoke away. Did Snow know? She quickens her pace, eyes darting from the door to the smoke.

But the door doesn’t open. Instead, the corridor remains eerily silent. The moonlight streaming into Emma’s cabin casts its pale glow against the door, making the presence of dancing silhouettes visible to Emma's eyes. She frowns, knowing that Snow would have already barged her way in.

She exhales a sharp breath, tossing off her thin covers as she takes careful steps towards the door. Was someone up? She carefully opens the door just a creak, the moonlight streaming through revealing nothing but a dark empty corridor. Confused, she quickly closes the door and crosses the room towards her bed, falling asleep hours later when her overactive mind stops conjuring strange scenarios that involve wisps of thick dark smoke, dancing silhouettes and strange chilling laughter.


	3. Surge

The sun hung low, casting a burnished orange glow against the wispy clouds covering the skies on their fifth day of sailing. It looked truly magnificent, as it did every evening since the gang had started their dubious foray into this new realm, but Emma was far from being able to enjoy it. Her anxiety had skyrocketed to unbelievable levels as another day lazily dragged by.

It had taken all of her self control not to lash out at her parents for their uncomfortable hovering. That coupled with her lack of sleep made her irritable and she'd been looking for a suitable distraction all day. Unable to control her wandering feet, she resumes pacing along the lower deck, jaw tensing as the thoughts rattling around in her head drift back to her son’s captors.

Emma was right to be distrustful of Tamara. Neal had been blinded by his attraction to her and invited her into their lives. She stops in her tracks as thoughts of their last interaction race through her mind. Thoughts of his promises to be in Henry's life, his fall through that portal, wounded, Gold not being able to trace him and the fact that he could honestly be dea-

She grits her teeth.

_ Stupid _ Neal and _stupid _ Tamara, causing the chain of events that took Henry away. Tamara had been working with Greg to destroy magic in Storybrooke. Why did they need Henry when they had easily apprehended Regina? _She_ created Storybrooke but Emma was the one who'd brought magic to it by destroying the curse. Could Henry’s kidnapping have been prevented by his mothers trading in their lives? Or was the kidnapping a ruse to get Emma and Regina to Neverland?

She catches sight of their reluctant ally pacing along the upper deck. Their eyes briefly meet and Regina looks away with a scowl, a dark expression clouding her face. Since she had taken Emma’s blood a few days ago she’d been extremely_ ragey_. Emma surmises that her little experiment had likely failed but Regina would rather silently rage at herself than admit that out loud.

What the hell were they supposed to do with their time on the ship? They'd already tried concocting plans for when they got to the island earlier that morning. Unfortunately, Hook had shut down almost all of their schemes for getting past Pan and his band of lost boys. He'd told them that their plans were too basic, that their chances of survival lay in splitting into smaller groups and aiming for stealth since taking out the lost boys would alert Pan. They’d have to follow some of the boys back to their current home base and do some reconnaissance before planning an invasion. Several arguments had broken out about that, especially the lack of magic. Regina was uneasy about the point Hook made about magic being even more difficult to access on the island. She’d stormed off after that, seething at them all and cursing the entities of Neverland.

Regina's pacing came to an abrupt halt, taking her to the helm of the ship, hands tightly gripping the wooden balcony. Her eyes glued to the far off horizon, fear and yearning prominent in those dark eyes as that vein in her forehead became more prominent. Emma returns her gaze to the sea too, searching for something _anything _that would point them in the right direction. All that stares back is an overwhelming expanse of calm blue sea. She frowns, hands forming helpless fists as she continues her pacing.

“Emma you'll wear your boots out if you keep that up.” Snow calls sympathetically, gentle eyes following her daughter’s nervous movements. “We don't want you to fall again.”

Emma laughs bitterly, eyes rapidly bouncing between the expanse of sea before them and her calm parents as she shuffles along the deck.

“If anything, I think that all of you guys are seriously _ under-reacting_.” She pauses, eyes meeting Snow’s as her mother puts down her knitting tools, leaning against David's arm as he casts another fishing line out to sea.

“We're just as worried about Henry but wearing yourself out in your current condition isn’t going to help him."

That statement was true but it rubs Emma the wrong way and she looks away with a frown, unable to get a proper handle on her emotions.

"I told you I'm fine." She huffs, inhaling a deep breath to ground herself. "I'm not seasick anymore."

“Then how about you come over here and we can sit and talk like we used to?” Snow smiles warmly, patting the space next to her. 

Talk? Talk about _what_, Emma wonders. How would she even approach _girl talk_ the same with Mary Mar- uh, _Snow_. Emma ignores the invitation, skin prickling with that searing heat that belies a massive headache.

"I just want to be _ off _this thing.” Emma groans tightly gripping the railing and swooping forward so that her forehead presses against the cool sea soaked wood.

Hook scowls from the level above, tapping his hook on the wheel of the ship in disapproval. “I don't know if I should feel insulted or -”

“It was an insult.” Regina cuts in icily.

Hook ignores her, casting his gaze towards Emma.

“Luv, you're sailing with one of the most experienced sailors whose perused Neverland and lived to tell the tale. We’ll get out of here, that’s a promise.”

“I'd feel more confident if this experienced_ sailor _would get us to the island at a faster pace,” Regina interjects again and Hook glowers, shooting her a disdainful side glance. “How long until we're on dry land?” 

He rolls his eyes and shrugs. “Neverland is unpredictable and strangely mobile.”

“The hell does that mean?” Emma huffs, raising her head to stare up at the pair.

“The island has a mind of its own.” The dark one answers and everyone startles at his abrupt appearance.

His dark beady eyes briefly flicker over the group as he makes his way towards the helm of the ship, hands tangled behind his back. He'd been eerily silent since willingly boarding the vessel with them what felt like weeks ago to Emma. An air of unease sweeps over her as she stares up at him, noting the blank look in his dark eyes. This was the first time he'd come outside in days, having been holed up in his cabin doing who the hell knows what. “From what I’ve discovered while attempting to figure a way out of our predicament, the pirate is right, the island moves.”

“What?!” Regina turns abruptly, locking eyes with Gold. “Are you saying that we could be out here for _months _with this blundering fool searching for an island that _moves_? Why the hell are we _just_ learning about this?”

“It’s common knowledge.” Gold says simply, folding his arms as he takes the same spot he’d been in on the first day.

Regina clenches her fists, breathing out sharply. “I’ll show you _common knowledge_ you incompetent imp.”

Gold spares her an unimpressed look, eyes drifting towards her sparking fists as he raises an eyebrow. “I’d be careful about expending too much energy if I were you.” He warns, turning away with finality.

Regina huffs as the conversation ends with her powering down her magic and folding her arms to resume her uneasy pacing.

“You all knew the island was mobile and didn’t think to tell us?” David pipes up, looking every much as irritated as his daughter.

Hook shrugs, looking indifferent. “It’s always been this way. I suggest you prepare yourselves for a bit of a lengthy trip.”

“And _ I _ suggest that you speed up this hulking piece of ancient history. I _ need _to find my son.” Regina grits out, eyes wild with an emotion that resonates deeply within Emma.

“_Our _son.” Emma feels the need to stubbornly interject.

Regina sneers, cutting her an icy glare. “Now is not the time for your misguided sense of ownership Miss Swan.”

“_Misguided_?” Emma huffs, outraged. “_Ownership_?” She stops pacing, glaring daggers at the woman looking down her nose at her from the upper deck. “You just can’t stand the fact that Henry loves me too.”

"I don't care whether he loves you or not, legally you're not allowed to be in his life if I say so!"

"And _legally_, your town doesn't even _exist_ so I guess those rules don't apply there now do they?" Emma hisses, eyes hardening as Regina chuckles derisively. "You can't stop me from seeing him, Regina."

“I'm the Mayor! I can do anything I please."

"Which is why that town was so fucked up before I strolled in and everyone unanimously voted me the role of Sheriff."

"Gold helped you win it." Regina scoffs. "And your department answers to _me_." Her voice drops low, threatening. "So if you wish to still have a job when we get back, I advise that you don't antagonize me."

"Threaten everything into submission." Emma chuckles derisively. "Gotta hope the kid hasn't already started _that_ lesson."

"_You_ of all people can't begin to discuss the nuances of what and how I teach _my_ son, Miss Swan." Regina says darkly, Emma's entire body tenses in response.

"I'm sure that had nothing to do with him running away from home to find me in Boston." She retorts sharply.

Regina stiffens, eyes dark with loathing. "You're just the shiny new parent, the one Henry can idolize. But he doesn't know the real you.”

“Oh, and from a few newspaper clippings you think that you do?”

“I know _ enough_.”

Emma scoffs, unaware that she’s been steadily making her way up the steps until Regina blocks her path at the top of the last one, glaring down into Emma’s eyes as Emma seethes.

“Those articles were _biased_!”

“You are a criminal, Miss Swan,” Regina says simply, folding her arms. “A convicted felon.” She continues. “And simply a means to an end to get my son back.”

“_I’m_ the felon?” Emma laughs, the sound hollow to her ears. “Do you remember _who_ you are and _where_ you’re from?” Regina’s inhales sharply, fists clenching at the response and Emma smirks. “I'm not looking like such a bad parent now am I?”

“At least I didn’t have Henry in a _jail cell_.” Regina spits venomously. “Did you cut his umbilical cord with a rusted knife?”

“Hey watch it, lady,” Emma growls, abruptly grabbing hold of Regina’s stupid immaculate blue blazer and climbing onto the final step with her. She had crossed a damn line, several lines to be more specific, but Emma was extra sensitive about this one. Regina’s eyes widen briefly at Emma’s boldness as she towers before her, but she's always been able to throw Emma off with her fickle yet careful composure in high tension situations. Instantly Regina's body relaxes as she allows herself to meet Emma’s angry green eyes with a fierce glare of her own and Emma's scowl deepens.

“Or what? You'll hit me?” Regina asks, a taunting smirk curling at the corner of her lips.

“Oh, I'm thinking about it.” Emma seethes, breathing instantly labored. That headache pounds even fiercer between her eyes the tighter her fists clench in Regina’s blouse.

Regina's eyes glow at her reply, a faint eerie purple and Emma's skin prickles with more of that uncomfortable heat, bringing that headache to the forefront of her mind.

According to Henry's book, magic has always been on Regina's side and here it was now, springing to her fingers at a moment's notice to defend her. Emma recalls a portrait of the Evil Queen in the book, one where she wore a corseted maroon dress with lace trimming as she sat upon a throne. The lack of humanity in the darkness of her eyes was always an unnerving point, darkness that held danger and the promise of destruction.

Emma glimpses some of it in the dark brown of Regina's eyes, eyes that expose too many emotions to Emma's.

"Let go of me Miss Swan or so help me." Regina grits out, magic crackling at her fists. Emma's eyes are drawn to it, to the way it fills the air with a magnetic sort of aura. She frowns, eyes returning to Regina's and to the almost palpable threat that shudders in the air around them.

"Or you'll what?" Emma breathes, a fraction from her face, daring to poke a restless lioness. "I have magic too."

"I'm surprised you even remember that fact, what with your crippling fear of using it."

Emma shakes her head, eyes hardening. "Remind me again which one of us uses this thing like a drug?"

“You take that back,” Regina growls, eyes growing an even darker alarming shade of purple. The sparks of it crackle against Emma's skin but she doesn’t back down, instead, _anger_ flares inside of her like a hot spring.

“Even Henry knew it.” She says stiffly, voice dropping to the lowest register she's ever heard herself speak as something tugs low in her gut. She blinks despondently for a moment, clearing her throat.

"Shut up!" Regina hisses, a fist tangling in Emma's tunic and dragging her even closer. "Or I'll _make_ you."

"I'd like to see you try."

Emma can't think properly, can barely breathe as that tugging low in her gut intensifies. She drifts just a bit closer, eyes brimming with intensity. A brief silence lapses between them, one that makes Emma increasingly aware of the sliver of space between their bodies. Regina's eyes are hyper-focused on hers with a ferocity that makes he forget that they're having a very loud argument where everyone can see.

"What does he even see in you?" Regina asks with a dismissive shake of her head, hands sparking once more with magic that tingles against Emma's skin and proves her point that Regina overuses it.

Before Emma can even think to point that out, the simmering anger within surges like a bright flare, hurt and desperation quickly rushing in behind. She falters at the varying degrees of emotions quaking through her, hands trembling where they're buried in Regina's clothes as that sensation of heat rises to her face. Regina doesn’t back down, dark eyes burning with a raging fire that threatens to consume Emma.

Emma's skin burns with a feverish hum, a kind of potent warmth that crawls beneath her skin and makes her want to yank Regina closer, closer than they already are. Or maybe press the length of her body against hers and just -

She baulks, putting an abrupt end to that thought. The intensity between them breaks when she lets go of Regina’s blouse, oblivious to Snow tugging on her elbow as her hands fall limply at her sides and the rest of the ship and its stunned occupants come back into focus. Where the hell had that thought come from? That anger intermixed with hurt flashes through her mind with shocking clarity as the rest of the tension fades.

“Henry and I have an actual relationship,” Emma says, breathing out a shaky breath to address the woman focused on her with an unnerving murderous expression. “I….” Emma pauses, swallowing hard as that warmth against her skin surges in a strange yet all-consuming manner when their eyes meet. “I _ love _him, just as much as you do.”

"I'll never let you take him away from me." Regina rushes out, eyes wild with fury. "You Charmings may have the upper hand in Storybrooke but Henry is coming home with _ me_!"

Emma frowns, caught off guard at the pain that flickers so clearly across Regina's face, a vulnerability that compounds on the sorrow yawning through her own body like a massive pit of despair. Was this how Regina felt? Was this why she continuously acts the way she does? Why was Emma feeling this way?

"I don't want to take him away," Emma says slowly, voice dropping so that Regina's the only one to hear as she takes an unsteady step back.

Regina falters at the admission, brows furrowing as she regards Emma through those unnerving dark eyes as the purple slowly fades away. But she doesn’t get to reply, Gold grabs her by the wrist, eyes menacing as he hisses at her to stop energizing her magic. 

“This could very well spell the end of the vessel if you _ ever _ lose control in an environment like this with someone as untrained as _ her_.” He seethes, cutting Emma a fierce glare. Emma’s eyes widen, hand reflexively falling to the place on her hip where her halter and firearm used to be. She grits her teeth and briefly relaxes her stance so Snow's finally able to pull her away from the pair and over to David who takes a protective stance in front of them.

“_Open _your eyes, I know you feel what’s going on beneath the surface. There's strange magic at work in this realm.” Gold continues in a hiss then he whispers something lowly that makes Regina's entire body tense up and she roughly yanks her arm away.

“You have no right to demand that of me!” She barks out and he scoffs.

“I'm simply alerting you to what I've felt over the past few days.” He says, cryptic as his ancient eyes land once more on the Savior. Emma's spine tenses at the look and David places a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Don’t antagonize her.”

With that, the dark one and Regina magic themselves back to their respective cabins in a swirl of rust and purple, leaving the rest of the group in stunned silence.

* * *

The remainder of the day is spent on tasks to maintain the ship that had become routine. Emma never thought she’d ever been able to say that she was fed up of sailing, but here she was, puking her guts out over a bucket that had quickly become her best friend. The cold sweating was also back as warmth slithered down her spine, somehow intensifying her nausea which further distressed her parents.

They were all new to this changing dynamic, but David seemed to be having an easier time getting through to Emma compared to Snow.

Emma felt horrid more often than not and Snow was hovering to the extreme while David was much more laid back about the whole thing. Or at least, he was trying to be. He offered to make Emma some herbal tea from a cupboard of dried herbs and spices local to the Enchanted Forest that they'd found in Hook's makeshift kitchen. She had accepted it without question and it had worked for a while in keeping her nausea at bay. It made her a little more appreciative and grateful to him, and he'd smiled like one of those proud Dads in those family commercials Emma always hated as a kid.

Emma had to prevent herself from jumping into his arms when he approached her that evening with the idea of teaching her some basic moves with a sword as a father-daughter bonding exercise. It was something physical that could manage to keep her overactive mind from wandering and she had agreed easily, assuring him that she could handle nausea if it meant having a suitable distraction. David had panicked for a second about the ramifications of her exerting herself but Emma had grinned and reassured him that she was fine. He had smiled back easily and handed over a timeworn scabbard containing a sword he swore was fashioned within the breath of a dragon.

Then he regaled her with the story of his mission to slay a dragon as they climbed the steps towards the upper deck, away from the kitchen where Snow was busy fussing over their next meal. Emma was entranced by his animated voice and the story and by the time it was over, she held just a bit more admiration for the easy-going man who she would have adored as a kid. He showed her the sword then, twirling it a few times and Emma had recognized it as the same sword she'd also slayed a dragon with beneath the clocktower in Storybrooke.

She tells him all about it and also about the dark one's trickery on retrieving an egg from the slain dragon and his expression falls. A lump forms in her throat as a short silence falls between them and David takes a nearby broom and shows her the intricacies that go into handling the sword with ease.

"I'm just grateful that you weren't seriously injured." David says eventually and Emma breathes out a sigh of relief as he gives her an easy smile. "My only regret is that I wasn't there to help you."

"But you're here now." Emma says reassuringly.

"And yet...there's more magic involved." He says ruefully. Emma stops in her tracks, eyes trained on his uneasy expression. "There's strange magic in this realm that Gold and Regina can detect while Hook steers us towards a mobile island. It's all just so...unsettling."

"No matter what stands in our way, we're going to bring Henry home." Emma reassures, addressing the easier part of his concerns. She launches into the stance he's shown her and twirls the sword in a manner to counter an approaching opponent before moving into another stance with a bit of a wobble. "I have to believe that." David corrects her form, moving her leg a fraction to the left as she strikes at the target they’d created from a bag of hay placed upon a tall barrel. 

“Can you feel it too?” David asks, taking the sword from Emma and showing her a series of steps for parrying. "The strange magic, I mean."

“I…” She falters briefly, meeting his worried blue eyes. The only thing she feels is the uncomfortable heat threatening to either burn straight through her forehead as a headache or along her skin at random moments. Her brows furrow, could Regina feel any of that? Was Emma truly the only one? Or was this all somehow magic related? What did Gold mean when he told Regina not to antagonize Emma? 

“Emma?” David grips her forearm, the genuine concern on his face simultaneously making Emma want to shy away and bury herself in his arms. "Do you need a break?" Instead, she clears her throat and meets his clear blue eyes with a fierceness to her own.

“No,” She answers with a shake of the head. “I don’t feel that magic and I don't need a break.” David breathes a sigh of relief at her words and they're able to continue their lesson long into the evening.

* * *

It’s a while later when Snow calls them below deck for dinner.

They sit by candlelight around a sizable round table, discussing the day’s events as Snow shares their rations of bread and salted meats. Emma grimaces at the sight but relief floods her features when Snow produces a bowl of soup made especially for her. She found that she would enjoy whatever it was as long as she didn't question what Snow had made it from.

“We should be back in the Enchanted Forest, ruling our kingdom.” Snow laments offhandedly, breaking from the current lull in conversation with her eyes downcast. “Not wandering a freakish new realm while some deranged evil that's kidnapped our grandson threatens to harm him.” David takes one of her hands, gently running a thumb over her knuckles.

“I know.” He says softly, silence weighing heavily between them for a moment. “I feel like I'm adrift here myself.” He admits after a while, eyes worriedly going back towards the porthole on the far side of the cabin and back out towards the darkened sea. “What if our plan doesn't work?”

“Perhaps everything _is_ guaranteed to go wrong.” Hook interjects unhelpfully, offering David a sip from his flask. David declines it politely and he shrugs, leaning over the table to offer it to Emma instead.

"And here I was, thinking you were an optimist," David says dryly. Hook chuckles as Emma grabs the flask, taking a healthy swig that burns as it rushes down her throat. She winces, coughing a little and he grins as he offers it to Snow.

"Ever heard of the expression, _abandon all hope_?" Hook asks conversationally, raising an eyebrow when Snow eyes the flask warily. She reaches up with a decisive nod and takes it from his hand, pouring some of the contents into her goblet before giving it back. "If I didn't know any better I'd say that that term was coined specifically for this island."

“We have a contingency plan.” David points out and Hook laughs, tucking his flask away as he chews on a slice of salted meat.

“Better have a contingency plan _for_ that contingency plan mate.” He says with a shrug. “Pan is like a God here.”

"Then why hasn't he attacked us again?" Snow asks, eyes focused on the amber liquid in her goblet. "Why not send another storm? Or some horrible sea creature."

"I suppose that his powers may be somewhat limited, something to do with pixie dust and belief magic and all that nonsense," Hook waves a flippant hand. "but I do not doubt that he'll be lying in wait for our arrival."

“Tell us more about him.” David demands and Hook grimaces, swallowing hard as he meets his gaze.

“What do you want to know?”

“What we're up against,” David shrugs. “We've planned our course of action should we have to spend a few days out at sea when we first arrived and for when we get to the island but so far no one’s even thought of the battle ahead.”

“A likely assumption from _you_.” Regina says dryly, waltzing into the room with as much apathy as she can muster. It was the first time she’d been there with them and she takes a chair from the table and carries it towards the far desk in the room, taking up Hook’s older map of Neverland. “I’ve been planning my revenge since getting to this godforsaken place.”

David rolls his eyes, shoving another piece of meat into his mouth. “We're not discussing retribution, yet.” He says simply. “We're talking about the layout of the land, the rankings among Pan’s minions.”

“The location of his home base. Coming up with the best strategy to use when we attack.” Snow finishes for him, and David nods, reaching out for her hand.

“Pan has an army of Lost Boys.” Hook starts, an uneasy note to his tone. “They'll be spread across the island, avoiding them would be nearly impossible."

"So an army of boys," Emma says flatly. "Should we have brought toys as distractions?"

"Do not underestimate them." Hook replies tightly. "That's a grave mistake to make."

"What exactly are they capable of?" David asks, finishing the last of his dinner and patting his full stomach.

"When I was a boy he had us learn archery, sword fighting, hand to hand combat. Anything sharp and pointy was fair game and the strong always conquered the weak when it came to showing their might to please him."

"So they're dangerous."

Hook scoffs. "You don't know the half of it, mate."

"Okay, Pan's a demon and the boys are his deadly pack. Noted." Emma says, lifting her hands in surrender. "But where exactly do Greg and Tamara come in?"

Hook grimaces. "If he's kept them around then he probably has them out gathering more children for his army."

"An army...for what purpose?" Regina interjects and everyone falls silent.

"Control." Hook shrugs. "He's taken over the island. There are no more mermaids in the cove or fairies in the forests. He keeps the lost boys because he uses them for belief magic. But when they grow older..." Hook shakes his head. "Let's just say that it's a cruel fate."

"Then we have to stop him at all costs." Snow says and a wave of agreement makes its way around the table.

"The lost boys have notably been stationed at key points along the coast and at strongholds that Pan calls his bases.” Hook informs them. "It will be difficult to take them by force."

“So we avoid those places,” Regina says simply. “I’ve been studying the map I took from you a few days ago, there's a hidden cove in-”

“The echo caves, a practically impenetrable home base. We'd have better luck going anywhere else.”

"A few abandoned trails run along the edge of the dark forest."

Hook visibly tenses at this, eyes steely as he answers. "The dark forest is rife with shadows."

"_Shadows_?" Emma frowns. Hook nods gravely.

"The souls of the lost." He explains. "It's the price the Lost Boys pay for doing Pan's bidding. When they've served their time on the island, they become truly lost."

"You never did tell us how you escaped this island," Emma says and all eyes land on Hook. He visibly tenses, holding on to that trinket around his neck as he speaks.

"This star piece took me home." He says, holding it up for them to see. "As far as I know, it once had protective belief magic from something the fae called the tree of life." He shrugs. "It was able to get me out of Neverland."

"How did you manage to get that?" David asks as Hook tucks the trinket back into his jacket.

"A girl I cared very deeply about." He frowns. "I suppose you can say that she saved my life."

"That girl was _here_? In Neverland?" Emma asks incredulously. "But I thought that Pan recruited boys." She pauses thoughtfully, eyes narrowing. "Wait don't tell me, her name was _Wendy_."

Hook's eyes widen. "Yes." He shakes his head. "But how did you -"

"The land without magic has a multitude of strange adaptations about each of our lives." Snow informs him with a shrug. "What happened to her?"

"I..." He hesitates briefly before letting out a heavy sigh. "I don't know. But what I do know is that we faced many perils here that I've tried to forget."

The more Emma heard about the true nature of Pan, the more her worrisome thoughts flickered to the surface. What the hell were they going to face on that island? Henry _had_ to be alright, she'd accept nothing less.

“So what I'm hearing is that we can use that star piece to get us back home when we find Henry," Regina says decisively.

"It doesn't work anymore," Hook says ruefully. "Believe me, I've tried."

"Oh great, now we're back to square one." Regina huffs, folding her arms as she rocks back in the chair.

"Wendy did say that it uses the island's most ancient form of belief magic from the tree of life," Hook says. "But the bloody thing is hidden somewhere in the forest."

"The one where the creepy lost shadows live?" Emma asks and Hook nods gravely.

"How did you find it?" David enquiries.

"I didn't." He says uneasily. "Wendy's the one who found all three of those strange objects."

"You mean that there are more?" Regina's eyebrows raise and Hook nods.

"She gave one to me and told me to think of home. That's as far as my knowledge on it goes."

"What did she do with the others?" Emma asks.

"She told me that she would give them to her brothers...I'm not quite sure if they escaped the dark forest."

"We can use magic.” Regina cuts in, eyes briefly finding Emma's. "To cloak us, make us unseen and unheard if we enter that forest."

"That...might be difficult." Hook replies, folding his arms as he addresses the entire group. "Magic is even more strange on the island."

"That sounds like a suicide mission." David cuts in worriedly. "We don't even know how far this _tree of life_ is or if that star piece will even work if we take it back to its source."

"Are we forgetting that we have the essence of _true love _in the form of a person?" Regina says with a pointed look at Emma, ignoring the way her parents visibly tense. "I'm sure with training she should be able to use her magic to remain alive at the very least." She shrugs. "Besides, getting to that tree sounds like the only lead we have for getting off this island with my son in one piece." 

Emma's spoon pauses on the way to her mouth as all eyes fall upon her. She swallows with a little difficulty, pushing the bowl away as she leans back in her seat.

"That's the smartest thing you've said since boarding this vessel, Luv." Hook says, surprise colouring his tone. He smiles, taking out his flask again and tipping it towards Regina before looking over at Emma. "True love magic is a formidable force in any realm. What do you say, Swan?"

Emma's mouth moves but no words come out. She shivers, a strange chilly sensation sweeping over her body and prickling her skin with goosebumps. She's saved from a reply when Regina rises abruptly, eyes shifting just slightly to Hook's left then back towards him. The room falls silent as all eyes follow her. She shakes her head. 

“I could have sworn I saw something like a…” she pauses, eyes flitting to Hook's curiously lax smile. Emma surmises that it had more to do with the alcohol in his flask more than anything they were discussing. “Something just flew right at you, didn’t you feel it?” 

"Feel what?" He asks, confusion in his voice as his eyes find David's. David shrugs, looking over at Snow who downs the remaining contents of her goblet before shrugging as well.

"All I feel is exhaustion setting in." Hook continues with an overly exaggerated yawn. Regina's jaw tightens but she doesn't say anything further as she finally walks back over to the table, eyes trained on Hook.

David shrugs at his response, agreeing with him as they both stand and start clearing the table. 

"You're kidding me." Regina scoffs, eyes bouncing between the pair. "Did no one see that big blur of black run smack into him?"

Silent stares make their way around the table and Regina huffs as Hook straightens his spine, pocketing his flask as he throws an indifferent look towards them all over his shoulder. “I think that you need rest, your majesty."

"I know what I saw!"

"You're starting to sound deranged."

"And you're acting like you have something to hide!" Regina growls and Hook snorts, bowing deeply in a mocking semblance of formality.

He turns to Emma. "Consider Regina's proposition.” And with that, he exits the room.

"Regina." Emma interrupts whatever rant she was just about to go on, making all eyes settle upon her once more. Nerves bloom in her stomach but she steels herself and asks the question that's been bugging her since the earlier part of that day. "What did Gold say? Before telling you that you shouldn't...antagonize me."

Regina's eyes briefly flit over to Emma's parents before meeting Emma's gaze head-on. "He said that I should teach you how to use your magic."

"Absolutely not." Snow's speech is slightly slurred as she stands abruptly, the chair screeching as its back legs drag loudly against the floorboards. She casts her probing gaze firstly to Emma then back to Regina. "_No_."

"I think that your daughter can speak for herself." Regina brushes Snow off easily, eyes imploring as they land on Emma. "I've had some time to consider it and I think this...might be our best shot."

Emma shakes her head, swallowing hard as her stomach clenches with unease. Snow hasn't stopped staring at her since the resounding _no_ left her lips and she closes her eyes and breathes out slowly.

"Can I have some time to think about it?"

Regina laughs incredulously. "That's a commodity that I'm afraid we can't spare since we have no idea when Pan's next attack will come or when exactly we're going to find the island." She cuts Snow an icy look before meeting Emma's gaze. "Besides, you told me on our first day here that you wanted to work together.” Regina shrugs. “Magic is the only way we can even hope to survive on that island, regardless of what the pirate says.”

“Regina I-”

“If you truly love Henry you’ll consider it.”

Emma falters at the mention of their son, strange scenarios that involve some unseen force whisking him away taunting at the edges of her mind from dreams she's woken abruptly from within the past few days. Regina's gaze is intense like she was daring Emma to back away from gaining an advantage on the island they were slowly beginning to associate with the likes of a horror movie and that heat beneath Emma's skin flickers to life.

“_Love_.” Snow scoffs, breaking them out of their intense gaze. Regina raises an eyebrow, eyes steely as she regards Snow. “Do you even _know_ genuine love, Regina?” 

Regina’s spine tenses as she regards Snow and Emma nervously glances between them. A slow unsettling smile spreads across Regina's face as she rises from her seat, a dark chuckle slipping from her lips.

"Once upon a time." She says acerbically. "Then he was _stolen_ from me."

Snow nods passively, fingers clenching around the goblet she'd been drinking from. "Like how my father was stolen from me." She says and a tense silence falls upon the group. 

Regina leans forward, hands pressed to the table as she glares at Snow. "I fail to see the similarity."

“I know one thing for sure.” Snow meets her gaze evenly, voice frosty with reproach. “You _never_ loved my father.”

“No, I never did,” Regina admits easily in an unsettlingly calm voice.

David slips a hand into Snow's but she doesn't spare him a glance, caught in Regina's orbit as they glare at each other. 

“I fantasized about killing him. Daily. Hourly.” Snow’s outraged gasp fills the room as a slow smile spreads across Regina’s red-painted lips. “I had it all planned out. I’d walk right up to him, stick my hand deep into his chest and pluck that little organ out.” She laughs gleefully, letting out a sigh as she raises a hand, producing an apple in her palm as a visual demonstration. She raises it at eye level, teeth gleaming with that sharp smile as she absentmindedly admires its red surface. “I’d imagine him as he pleaded to me, and just as he thought I was about to spare his pathetic life, I’d _ crush _ it.” She seethes, demolishing the apple with a burst of purple magic, mangling its perfect red surface. The apple juice rolls messily down her wrist, curling around her forearm as her eyes flicker to Snow’s. “I’d _ squeeze _every last drop of life-sustaining blood out of it before tossing it at his feet and watching him drop down, _dead_.”

Tension punctuates the air, Emma’s skin humming with an intensified bout of heat as the suffocating intensity in the room rises. The magic in Regina’s fist crackles and fizzles out. A beat passes between them and Snow springs to her feet, eyes wild with fury. 

“You psychotic _ murderer_!” Snow hollers and once again Emma and David spring into action to separate the bickering pair.

* * *

It’s a while later when Emma storms down the hall towards Regina’s cabin intent on scolding her. Snow was tipsy and more than a little emotional. There was just no conceivable way to stop her from ranting incessantly, dredging up every inkling of their past as proof that Regina was a horrible person. David took it all in stride but Emma had had _enough_. Her never-ending headache seemed ten times worse, making her just as likely to snap at her mother if she so much as heard one more story about Regina.

Emma stumbles a little, pausing just outside of Regina's cabin. It was a task separating them but she and David had managed, even while Regina wholeheartedly goaded Snow on with cruel twisted laughter and hurtful words. 

The second Emma yanks open the door to Regina's cabin, the headache pounding between her eyes recedes a little, giving her considerable pause. It's like a fog being lifted from her mind and the sudden clarity to her previously jumbled thoughts leaves her a bit frazzled. At the sound of her noisy entrance, Regina looks up sharply from the piece of parchment she'd been pouring over. She sits up slowly on her freakishly large bed, adjusting herself so she's facing Emma as she raises an eyebrow. 

“Are you lost?” She asks pointedly, eyes flitting dismissively back towards the map. 

Emma’s eyes narrow as she steps into the room and onto the gleaming tiles of Regina's immaculate floor. “Do you have to attack my mo-" She grits her teeth. "_Mary Margaret_ at every opportunity you get?”

Regina’s eyes harden as she closes the parchment, folding her arms. “She makes it ridiculously easy.”

“Who the hell describes ripping someone’s heart out and crushing it in such gruesome detail?”

Regina shrugs, an amused smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “It’s not my fault that the little dolt can’t handle some simple descriptions. Or her alcohol for that matter."

"Did you ever think that a combination like that would send anyone over the edge?" Emma asks incredulously. "Why did you provoke her?"

"She started it." Regina hisses.

"Oh really mature," Emma grumbles, folding her arms and leaning against the doorframe. "What am I supposed to do with the both of you? Give you a time-out every time you try to rip each other to shreds?"

Regina cuts her a sharp glare. "All I did was ask _you_ to learn magic." 

"Then casually admitted to _murder_." Emma points out. Regina shrugs, looking very unbothered by it all.

"She knows very well that I didn’t kill her father.” She smirks. “Directly.”

Emma shakes her head, squinting at Regina. “You’re morbid as fuck, you know that?”

“And you’re just as invasive as Snow White.” Regina’s eyes narrow. “Get the hell out of my room.”

Emma rolls her eyes, tamping down on her own annoyance. She anchors herself at the door as Regina's lower lip curls. “This rescue will never succeed if we all don't work together."

“Let me make myself abundantly clear, Miss Swan,” Regina says, slipping off the bed and striding forward with long purposeful steps. She doesn't stop until she’s inches away from Emma’s face, a vibrating aura of impatience and menace. Emma’s hands press against the doorframe on either side for support as her head dips forward, meeting Regina's levelled stare. “I’m only here for my son.” Regina sneers, eyes steely. "Everything else is trivial.”

Emma shakes her head, breathing out steadily as that pain in her forehead pulses with sudden intensity. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

Regina scoffs, raising an eyebrow as Emma presses a hand to her head, briefly closing her eyes against the onslaught of pain rippling across her forehead.

"I can tell that everyone’s waiting for me to step out of line so that you can swoop in and save Henry yourselves but I’ll be damned if I let that happen.”

“You know what?” Emma takes a step forward, forcing Regina to look up at her. “I’m tired of _this_. I’m tired of mediating between you and my pa-” she freezes briefly on the words, gritting her teeth. “Mary Margaret! And I’m especially tired of you not acknowledging that _ I gave birth to Henry!_”

“_I’M_ HIS MOTHER!” Regina hisses, dark eyes stormy with reproach.

“I’M HIS MOTHER TOO!” Emma shouts and that pounding in her head flares, tightening unforgivingly between her eyes. 

Emma cries out and Regina’s face immediately falls as she reaches out to grasp onto her as Emma clutches her forehead. Regina’s hands steady at her sides as Emma's vision blurs around the edges. She tries to speak but can’t manage to form words as her heart thunders against her ribs, the ever-present heat radiating along her arms intensifying as her breathing shallows and her legs give out, weakly bringing her to her knees.

“Emma.” Regina’s voice is a million miles away.

Emma’s head lolls, the strength in her body lethargic. She's vaguely aware of an arm hesitantly curling around her shoulder as a warm body presses against her side, roughly propping her against the base of the wall. Her head swims, like the sensation of being trapped underwater with precious little oxygen as her eyes flutter weakly, vision blurry and tongue heavy. Her body lurches as Regina shakes her, the syllables of her frantically called name somewhat garnering Emma's attention.

She’s able to regulate some of her thoughts the moment Regina’s hand touches the nape of her neck. It's a strange sensation, one that provokes a sense of trust as Regina's confused yet worried eyes come into sharp focus. The heat recedes along Emma's skin, crawling back into her veins until it's just a faint pinprick of sensations gliding along her arms.

A memory burns brightly within her head. One that she’d buried so deeply that it stuns her at the clarity with which it flashes in her mind.

_ The blinding lights from above make everything sharper in Emma’s groggy mind as the doctor and nurses in the room talk amongst themselves. Pain flares between her thighs when she shifts on the bed, twisting onto her side as one of the nurses brings the baby towards her. Her breath catches as her eyes settle on him once more, hands aching to hold him as his tiny screams pierce the sterile air. All of the pain, all of the months of morning sickness and sh_ _e’d made that, she marvels, those tiny hands and feet, those adorable rosy cheeks. _

_Tears fall from her eyes as he wiggles against the nurse and the woman laughs and calls him spirited. Emma's heart pangs at the thought of the papers she’d already signed, giving up her rights to him. He had been in the world for a few minutes and already his mo-, she grits her teeth, unable to even think the word. She had no right to, after all, she'd already abandoned him._

_ “Here he is.” The nurse says, a smile curving her lips. “Your bouncing baby bo-” _

_ “N-No.” Emma rushes out, eyes wide as the nurse freezes just inches away. Emma no longer had any rights to him anyway. What good would holding him do? _

_ “Sweetie, are you s-” _

_ “Yes.” Emma cuts her off, abruptly turning her face away. She grits her teeth. “I’m sure.” _

He would be better off_, she repeats, quivering as her eyes close. She was doing the right thing. _ By forcing him into foster care_? She berates herself, hands fisting in the thin hospital sheets as her jaw clenches. Despite giving birth to him she was still stuck in jail. She didn’t have a plan for the immediate future or the resources to raise a kid, she was still practically a kid herself. _

_ She had to believe that he would be okay. He’d find a good home. He wouldn’t turn out like her. _Never _like her. _

Emma’s eyes spring open, the random memory fading away as her head swivels towards Regina. She's closer, close enough for Emma to admire the edges of her lashes and feel the warmth of her sharp breaths. Their eyes lock briefly and the intensity within Regina's piercing stare draws Emma slight closer. There’s curiosity there, Emma can tell. Regina studies her, eyes roving over Emma’s face like she’s transfixed like Emma's this anomaly that she can't quite pin down. Emma flushes when she realizes that she’s practically crawled her way into Regina’s lap. Her throat’s drier than sandpaper at this point and her eyes flutter when Regina’s hesitant fingers pressed to the nape of her neck move to tangle in her hair. 

The pleasant sensation that follows releases the rest of the tension in Emma’s spine and she sags forward, unable to stop herself from falling into Regina’s arms and trapping the woman against the wall of the cabin. The headache begins to recede in slow agonizing points across her forehead, taking the burning sensation gliding across her body and fogginess in her brain along with it. Emma breathes out steadily, inhaling the sweet lavender scent of Regina’s skin as the fingers in her hair move to pull away.

Her eyes widen and her sluggish tongue races to stop her. “No.” She says softly, trembling hand returning Regina’s. “_Please_.”

It’s odd, seeing Regina up close like this, having her hand tingle at points along Emma’s skull as she closes her eyes and focuses on regulating her breathing. Emma's practically sitting on top of her, legs bracketing Regina's waist as her forehead rests against her shoulder. Regina's a bit stiff beneath her but she can't bring herself to even think about the strangeness of this interaction yet as her mind goes blissfully blank.

Emma doesn’t know how long they stay like that, a pile of limbs on the tiled floor of Regina’s cabin, but it’s a while before Regina moves to shift away from Emma’s heavy form. Emma sits upright with slightly less difficulty as Regina stands abruptly and crosses the room back towards her bed. She busies herself with the map, looking for all the world like she didn't just save Emma from having her brain implode in her head mere seconds ago.

“That's the worst it's ever gotten and you just..." Emma frowns, breaking the strained silence in the room. "You had a cure to this seasickness all along?”

Regina clears her throat and finally turns back towards her, cheeks flushed as she kicks her shoes off and pulls her legs up on the sizable bed.

“I didn’t,” Regina says, a gravelly lilt to her voice that makes her grimace. Emma shifts her weight to her forearms, carefully easing herself into a sitting position. When she's finally seated with her back against the wall for support, Regina meets her eyes. “You weren’t seasick.” Emma’s brows furrow as Regina clears her throat and shrugs. “I just used magic.”

Emma’s eyes widen and she scrambles to her knees, nearly knocking herself over in the process as her shaky hands hold onto the wall for support. “Y-You used magic? _ On _me?”

Regina stiffens and Emma blames her lack of control on her heavy tongue. “I didn’t exactly have a choice, you were having a magic surge.”

“A magic _what_?!”

“A magical _surge_, Miss Swan," Regina repeats, slightly annoyed. "I didn't recognize it in you at first because it's...well it seems amplified. It's common among those now learning to control their magic. High fevers, bouts of nausea, headaches, body pains, the works."

"So you've experienced this before?" Emma asks, fingers wringing themselves tightly together.

"I have." Regina nods slowly. "But it subsided after a few days. It was never on the level that you're experiencing it."

Emma frowns, unable to control the wavering of her voice. "What's wrong with me?"

Regina raises an eyebrow. "Where do I even begin?"

Emma glowers. "You know what I meant."

"It's rare to experience a multitude of these symptoms at the same time. That tells a lot about the capacity of your magic." Emma falls silent with that explanation and Regina continues. "So the short answer is _yes_, Miss Swan. I did use magic.” Regina looks up then, eyes steely. “But I only used it to _control_ yours.”

“To control...mine.” Emma repeats dumbly. 

"Rumple was right, unfortunately," Regina admits, grimacing at her own words. "You have way too much untrained magic and as your body tries to acclimatize itself to using something that has long lay dormant within, you're experiencing what you've dubbed as _seasickness_."

"I..." Emma blinks. "So it is my magic doing this to me..." 

Regina nods. "It's time you learn how to control it."

Emma's jaw tenses and ticks, curiosity overwhelming even as her doubts surface. "What if I don't?"

Regina shrugs, indifferent. "Then say goodbye to your sanity."

Emma stumbles back against the wall, eyes pressed tightly together as she breathes out slowly. She was slowly becoming more aware of her own magic. The way it surges beneath her skin at odd times, the way it had felt that one time when she'd helped Regina in the mines, and especially the way it twirls like waves of warmth beneath her skin even now as she opens her eyes to meet Regina's intense probing ones.

It was hard to deny that part of her when this woman was dead set on making Emma confront it. Unfortunately for her, that meant bringing her issues with her parents to the forefront.

She looks away, unable to hold eye contact for long as Regina awaits her answer. If she didn’t learn how to control her magic, the consequences would worsen. Her parents would understand...right? Snow's outburst to just the suggestion of Emma learning magic was still fresh in her mind. They’d been scarred by it, but Emma can’t deny that just the thought of her having something similar to actual powers made her inner child unbelievably giddy.

All she had to do now was get over her crippling fear of disappointing her parents.

No big deal...right?

* * *

Emma requests time to think about Regina's offer and another week flies by in a blur onboard the Jolly Roger as the group grows more antsy by the day.

By night, those strange noises from the corridors grow louder, only to disappear completely when Emma gets up in an irate huff and yanks her door open. When she inquires about it to the rest of the group, they only give her odd looks and Snow volunteers to join her in her cabin at night. Emma vehemently protests. It seemed like everyone else slept well onboard the ship besides the Savior. The noises and dancing silhouettes keep Emma up way more than she'd care to admit, making her jumpy and groggy by day and jittery with an overload of nervous energy at night. 

That energy spilt messily over into her magic, which surges like waves of heat throughout her body the more tensed she gets. It seemed like it would burn her from the inside out on days when she paced so much along the deck she felt like her legs would fall off. Regina had found her slumped against a post, pain making her unable to move an inch in any direction. She'd rolled her eyes but stooped down to Emma's side, her touch tingling along Emma's skin as her magic cloaked hand found that spot at the back of Emma's neck.

Warmth blossoms against Emma's skin on contact with Regina's, that feverish warmth that makes her breath catch as magic spirals along the base of her neck and the curve of her shoulders. It brought an airy sensation to Emma's body, one that had vibrated within her and made her close her eyes, falling into a deep sleep. When she'd awaken, it was quite a few hours after the sun had set and Snow was frantically shaking her arm and blabbering about sleeping curses and Evil Queens.

Since their previous spat, Snow and Regina had given each other an even wider berth and subsequently given Emma and David some much-needed breaks from refereeing. They were still at odds, but the ship felt less like a war zone with them studiously ignoring each other's existence. Regina was more skittish than usual since Gold had once again secluded himself inside of his cabin. It's a move that made tensions rise even more on the ship, but no one dared to barge in unannounced. Regina had taken to patrolling his part of the corridor, pacing the length of it with an intense sort of concentration.

That tugging sensation low in Emma's gut leads her one night from her room and back down the corridor where the dark one and her parents' cabins reside. She pauses when the moonlight from the porthole high above flickers over a silhouette in the darkness and she immediately heads towards it when the palms pressed towards Gold's door glow that alluring yet familiar purple.

"Never pegged you as a peeping Tom." Emma muses in a whisper as she leans a shoulder on the wall next to Regina. The woman was decked out in a black skin-tight jumpsuit and black boots. It was a look straight out of a spy movie and Emma has to prevent her jaw from falling open when Regina's glowing purple irises meet hers. Obviously Regina was attractive. It's a fact that had smack Emma across the face that first night Henry had brought her to Storybrooke. But within that year of knowing the Mayor, she'd never seen her wear something this _t__ight_ before and it was seriously...distracting.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Regina asks instead, breaking Emma out of her intrusive thoughts.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" Emma poses the question back at her and Regina rolls her eyes, her magic the main source of light in the darkness, illuminating her unamused face as she briefly glances at Emma.

“He’s doing magic in there,” Regina says stiffly. “I can feel it.”

Emma frowns, placing a hand against her stomach. Was that something she was also detecting? "Why don't you just poof yourself in there?"

"Believe me when I say I've tried." Regina grits her teeth. "I'll break in eventually. Especially since he's using _that_ kind of magic."

“What kind of magic?” Emma asks curiously.

Regina shoots her an icy look. "You'd know if you just _let me teach you_."

Emma sighs, rolling her eyes. "Bombarding me every day with this line of conversation is _not_ the definition of giving me time to think."

Regina snorts, lowering her voice. "I've told you that time is something we have no control of. Pan could show up right this very moment and kill us all."

Emma glowers, folding her arms. "How morbid of you."

"If you want sunshine, rainbows and conversations laden with hope, optimism and stupidity, I suggest that you spend more time with the sunshine duo."

"Is that what you call them behind their back?"

"I call them whatever comes to mind." Regina shrugs. "How did you manage to evade them today?" She continues in a whisper.

"Just told them I'd be lying in bed doing nothing all day while they fished."

"Still, it's the dead of night and you're awake."

"Because -" Emma cuts herself off. No one believed her tale about the dancing silhouettes and she wasn't about to bring it up now. Regina's eyes narrow as she regards Emma, powering down her magic and casting them in deep shadows. Emma's eyes adjust to the darkness within a few seconds, eyes darting along the walls of the place to make sure that those shadows weren't moving. She immediately follows Regina's retreating back down the corridor and they walk in silence for a bit, past their rooms and down the final corridor leading to Hook's.

Hook had grown more somber as the days went on, his jokes about _never_ finding _land_ seemingly all but fading. He'd taken to spending most of his time in his cabin if he wasn't out directly steering the ship. It was a change that had confused Emma since the pirate captain had taken every opportunity at the beginning to be wherever she was on the ship at random points throughout the day. But why were they heading towards his cabin? They pause outside of his door and Regina's eyes glow as she whispers an incantation, one that makes Emma's magic surge beneath her skin. She frowns as Regina places her palms against the door and briefly closes her eyes.

Why exactly were they there and what were they looking for? Did Regina still suspect Hook? It surely looked like she'd done this before if the level of stealth and night blending outfit was any indication. Emma could understand spying on Gold but beyond their immediate dislike for each other, why was she going to such lengths to spy on Hook?

Hook was also still awake, his gruff yet slightly slurred voice muffled beyond the thick wooden door. Emma recalls him drinking himself into a stupor earlier that day as she strains to hear his words.

“He sounds hungover. Why are we -” 

Emma doesn't get to complete her sentence. Instead, the words die in her throat when Regina roughly yanks her forward by her tunic and then shoves her into a slight space curving to the right where a locked abandoned room had been.

“Mph!” She protests weakly and Regina's glare could curdle milk as she shoves Emma further back into the small space behind her. The movements behind the door still and Regina inhales sharply when the footsteps pad quickly towards the door and roughly yanks it open.

The corridor is oddly silent, save for the rocking motion of the waves beating against the ship as Hook’s haggard face comes into view. Regina shifts back on instinct, body pressing tightly against Emma's and Emma's entire body tenses against her. Goosebumps rise along her skin and her face burns when she realizes how tightly Regina was pressed against her. It shouldn't affect her this much, she berates herself, struggling with her sudden loud breathing when Regina's back practically moulds to her front. 

“Is someone out there?” Hook demands, voice booming in the eerie silence of the night. Emma's eyes widen when his head swivels in their direction and Regina swiftly spins around in the tiny space and roughly presses her hand to Emma's mouth. Hook’s eyes narrow and Emma's confusion clears when he frowns thoughtfully as if looking straight through them! 

She doesn't dare to breathe as he pulls back, once again taking in the empty corridor and after a prolonged period, he goes back inside, leaving the door slightly ajar.

Regina lets out a breath she'd been holding, roughly poking Emma in the ribs.

“You almost got us caught!” She whispers shouts, jabbing Emma again. Emma whimpers in pain, reaching around Regina's hips to tighten her hold on her sides as she jerks her face away from Regina's hand.

“Stop that!” She leans down to hiss directly into Regina's ear and the shorter woman stills, tension in her spine when Hook abruptly comes back out of the room. He once again surveys the corridor and they both fall silent as he produces a silver key from his pocket, locking the door to his cabin but lingering there for a few minutes with suspicion in his eyes as he scans every creak and corner. 

Emma squeezes her eyes shut as the muscles in her leg tense unforgivingly. She sinks her teeth into her lower lip as it begins to cramp in the uncomfortable space because _of course_ something like this would happen to her. She tries to tough it out but ultimately fails as the pain worsens.

Regina winces when Emma tries to move the leg and ends up stomping on her feet.

“S-Sorry! Cramp.” She whispers and Regina's hand stills Emma's frantic movements as she presses it to the Savior’s leg. Emma's eyes widen at the touch and seconds later the tension in her leg begins to fade as Regina allows a tiny trickle of her magic to slither along Emma's leg. Emma shivers at the soothing warmth that rushes towards her muscles and her mouth goes dry when her eyes catch Regina's in the practically non-existent space between their bodies.

Her eyes drift down towards their chests, heart amping as her brain finally acknowledges the soft curves pressed warmly against her. Why the hell did Regina have to wear _that_? The outfit emphasized everything and Emma's brain was about to have a meltdown just trying to avoid thinking about it.

Regina's dark eyes trap hers again, like a magnetic pull Emma can't resist and she raises an eyebrow, clearly taking note of the staring. Emma's cheeks burn fiercely as she abruptly looks away and shuts her eyes, praying for the moment to end.

Why was she suddenly so panicked? When had she become so aware of her racing heart? Perspiration beads on her forehead as those thoughts cloud her mind and she practically jolts when Regina moves against her, craning her neck to the right to observe Hook's movements.

_ Get your head out of the gutter, Swan,_ she mentally berates herself, _ this is Henry’s other mother._ But her traitorous body was reacting in ways that unnerved Emma. She was intimately aware of every one of Regina's movements, the rhythmic motion of her chest when she breathes and the warmth where Regina's magical hand stays pressed to her leg. It certainly didn't help that annoying fluttering in Emma's chest and she bites down harshly on her lower lip, unsure when this had become a new form of torture for her.

Regina's head swivels back towards her and she's trapped in her stare again, those glittering eyes closely observing her as a furrow forms between Regina's brows. It's oddly attractive and Emma's thankful that her hands have little room to manoeuvre right now out of fear of what they may have done. But that doesn't stop Regina's hand at her side from fisting in her tunic and the one on her leg from sliding up along Emma's thigh, spreading relief along that leg and prompting dirty thoughts in Emma's head. Emma swallows dryly, unsure what her eyes reveal to Regina. Their faces are just inches away in this tiny space and Regina's fingers curl tighter in Emma's clothes with each passing moment.

Hook’s boots scuffing against the floorboards at the end of the corridor catch both of their attention as he throws one last cursory glance over his shoulder before going up the stairs. Emma sags forward in relief and Regina stumbles back with the weight of her momentum, dragging them through the shimmery veil of Regina's magic and into the corridor.

They automatically let go of each other and Emma gulps in a deep breath of air like she'd been starved of it within the last few minutes. 

“Why the hell didn't you just _magic_ us out of there?” Emma grumbles, embarrassment colouring her cheeks as she limps a few steps away to stretch out the lingering tension in her leg. 

“I…” Regina falters like she hadn't even considered that angle and Emma raises an eyebrow as she glares. “That wasn't part of the plan!” She retorts sharply. “I know I heard him talking to someone, I think he's hiding something from us.”

Emma scoffs, straightening her spine. “I think you're just paranoid.”

“And I think that you're defending your _boyfriend_.” 

Emma blinks, caught off guard as she stammers her reply. “He's not my-”

Regina turns away, eyes frosty. “I don't _care_ what you call it, Miss Swan. Need I remind you that we're here on a very important mission?”

“I know that!” Emma answers gruffly, shoving her hands deep into her jean pockets. 

“Good,” Regina replies sharply. “Because I'm _slightly_ less distrustful of you than I am of the pirate.”

Emma snorts, folding her arms. “Is this your way of admitting that you're growing fond of me?” She asks cheekily and Regina rolls her eyes, startling when Hook's footsteps start back up the corridor. She grabs onto Emma's shoulder, surprising the Savior as a cloud of purple surrounds them, taking them swiftly to Regina's cabin in a puff of magic.

Emma stumbles when they reappear, disoriented as her head spins and she grabs tightly onto Regina's hand, not letting go.

“For _fuck's_ sake! _W__arn _me when you're gonna do that.” She hisses, feeling the magic slithering along her arms and legs before dissipating.

“You could do it yourself if you'd just let me -” 

“No.” Emma hisses, stubbornly letting go of Regina's arm and stumbling away. “I'll leave that up to you and Gold.”

“And what if we can't protect all of you?” Regina retorts. “What if one of Pan’s minions -”

“I won't let that happen.” Emma says gruffly, stumbling her way out of the room and abruptly ending the conversation.

“Emma,” Regina calls after her, stilling the Savior in the darkness of their silent corridor with the rare use of her name. “Please, just consider it.” She advises. “For Henry's sake.”

And just like that, Emma's stubborn will falters. Regina closes the door to her cabin, leaving the Savior with thoughts of their son, the only valid reason to learn the craft she was shying away from.

* * *

"We've been thinking about your symptoms a lot." Snow admits a few days later when they'd just begun gathering around the table for dinner. She places a hand upon Emma's, trapping her in excited eyes that unnerve her with how they juxtaposed the words that have just left her mouth.

"I told you, I'm not really seasick." Emma repeats, daring to try one of the pieces of salted meats she'd studiously been avoiding. She hadn't told her parents the exact reason for her bouts of nausea and honestly, she was a little afraid to. It's a stupid fear, she realizes, but she just wasn't ready for the tension it would bring.

"We know." Snow admits, eyes finding David's encouraging ones. Emma's eyes widen, flitting between them both in confusion.

"You...do?" 

"Oh yes." Snow smiles and it's this proud mushy motherly smile Emma has a hard time looking at. Emma's hand tenses beneath hers and Snow lets go of her ruefully, twisting her entire body to look at her daughter. "I think you should know by now that you don't have to hide things from us."

Emma's eyes narrow at the confusing reply. "What exactly are you saying?"

Snow chuckles softly, eyes alight with amusement. "I'm saying that we know that you're _pregnant_."

"What?!" Emma splutters, the comment garnering the attention of Regina and Hook who'd just entered through the doorway.

"Your father and I have been tracking your symptoms." Snow continues, unaffected by Emma's intense reaction. "There's some variation between us but I had many of those symptoms when I was going to have you."

"You're having a child and yet you still took that drink I offered?" Hook asks, eyes widening in alarm as he takes his spot at the table. Regina walks past them all, ignoring the food as usual and sitting at the table in the corner of the room with another map and a spellbook she'd been pouring over that day. "I may not know much, Swan, but I do know that that is bad form."

Regina remains silent as Emma's eyes flit towards her. She doesn't contribute to the conversation, a rare feat if Emma thinks about it, but she doesn't hide the fact that she's listening for Emma's response as she folds her arms and casts her probing gaze towards Hook.

Emma laughs, scrubbing a weary palm across her face.

"Okay, listen. Everyone calm down." She says mirthfully. "In case it's escaped anyone's notice, I already had a kid and I'm sure that I know my body and these symptoms _aren't_ from a pregnancy."

Hook lets out an audible sigh of relief that David echoes and Emma shakes her head at the pair.

Snow frowns, the spoon in her hand clattering against her bowl as she leans towards Emma. "But we thought -"

"I haven't slept with anyone in _months_." 

"That could change in a heartbeat, Luv." Hook says offhandedly, winking when he gets Emma's attention.

Emma rolls her eyes. "Don't hold your breath."

"You wound me, Swan." He grouses, clutching his chest in mock horror. "I'm a catch."

"Be grateful there isn't a dagger protruding from your throat," Regina interjects, eyes trained on Hook. "Charming may look meek but I suspect he's fantasizing about killing you as much as I am." Everyone's gaze flits over to Emma's father who had stopped voraciously devouring his food to stab at the rest of it with his fork. Snow places a warm hand against his tensed shoulders and he offers her a small smile that makes the tension melt right off of him. Regina rolls her eyes. "Or maybe I'm mistaken."

"Let's focus on the positives." Hook quips, tipping his flask towards Emma and taking a healthy swig. "Swan isn't pregnant."

"Who would I even have a kid with?" Emma throws her hands up, already done with the topic.

"_Well_ -" Hook's response gets cut off by Snow's.

"Neal." Snow points out immediately. Emma tenses at the mention of his name, knowing that she should have expected that reply. Neal had been a topic of interest that Emma had studiously been avoiding discussing with Snow. "He came back to town-"

"With a _fiance_ and a new life!"

"But he's Henry's _father_."

"_Birth_ father." Regina points out. "Nothing more."

Snow ignores Regina's input, eyes apologetically holding Emma's.

"I guess we thought the next logical step for you two would be marriage since you already had Henry." Snow says flippantly.

A short silence falls between them, a silence that makes Emma's gut twist. Was Snow actually serious? Did she willfully ignore all of the things Emma had let slip about him over the course of their tentative friendship before the curse broke? Or was she in favour of that elusive happy ending all of these fairytale characters seemed so unhealthily obsessed about?

Regina snorts, breaking some of the tension as she lifts her head to address Snow.

“Look at your daughter's face." She says, indicating Emma's poor attempt at composure. "You’re making us _all_ extremely uncomfortable.”

Snow bristles at the retort, eyes steely as she cuts Regina a fierce glare.

"Well, maybe I’d know how to act if you hadn’t _stolen all of these years from us_!” Snow seethes, voice frosty.

Regina bristles, squeezing the map in her hands as she smiles mockingly at her.

“Maybe I did you a _favour_, maybe you’re just not qualified to be a good mother.” She snaps back and Snow flies to her feet, righteous fury thundering in her green eyes.

“Says the woman who almost used a _love spell_ on her son!”

The entire cabin falls silent, the tension bursting at the seams. Regina stands abruptly, eyes murderous but Snow doesn’t back down, the weight of her words hanging in the air between them. Dinner effectively ruined, Emma reluctantly shoves the last of the seaweed sandwich into her mouth before glancing nervously between the pair.

Regina takes a threatening step forward and Emma staggers to her feet, tasting the destructive magic in the air when Regina’s breathing labours. She quickly makes her way over to Regina, reaching out and abruptly grasping Regina’s hand, startling the two previously locked in an intense glare.

Emma ignores the looks, nodding over at David as he stands too, taking Snow’s hand and effectively distracting her.

Regina’s eyes meet Emma’s then before flitting down to the point of contact between their hands. Emma's face burns but she doesn’t let go. Instead, she excuses them both and turns on her heel, practically dragging Regina out of the room and down the long corridor towards Regina's room.

Regina follows silently, and anger thunders in Emma's veins, the righteous fury that only subsides abruptly when Regina rips her hand away. Emma's knees shake beneath her as that migraine returns and Regina saunters over to her bed, plopping down upon it with a pointed huff. Emma stumbles a little as her back meets the wall of the cabin and she slumps to the floor in a seated position as Regina casts her eyes anywhere but at her. She clutches her forehead, the force of the headache making her grit her teeth at the return of the pain she'd been combating for what already felt like a lifetime.

Breathing out shakily, her eyes fall shut as her head spins, nausea returning with a vengeance. It doesn't take long for Emma's skin to overheat, magic singing through her veins at an alarming rate as her muscles tense. She feels more than hears Regina's approach, Regina's magic reaching out to her from across the room before she sits silently at Emma's side. The relief is almost instant, Emma's body sagging against Regina's as her magic transfers across that connection she can pinpoint between them that links their magic like a bridge.

Her head falls to the crook of Regina's neck and Regina does something quite uncharacteristic - she wraps an arm around Emma's shoulders. Silence envelops them, a silence that Emma welcomes as the waves outside the ship reach her ears as if they'd been magnified. 

“Let me teach you magic.” Regina insists in a soft whisper, fingers curling gently in Emma's hair sending magic scattering in waves across her scalp. Emma groans at the feel of it, at the almost hypnotic quality of Regina's voice and the distracting patterns of her fingers in her hair that had almost become routine by now. Blinking sluggishly, Emma shifts, lifting her head so that she's staring at Regina from a short distance away.

"It's not that I don't want to." She whispers back, not daring to break this strange mood that had descended between them. Most of the anger had receded at the far edges of Emma's mind and she found that she was willing to be far more honest with Regina than she thought.

Regina frowns, tilting her head curiously as she regards Emma, voice still achingly soft.

"Why? Do you think that's it's evil?" She asks, genuine confusion in her eyes. It clears a second later as a taunting smirk curls at the corner of her lips. "Or did mommy and daddy say _no_?”

“_You're_ evil.” Emma grumbles petulantly, shifting her head away as Regina laughs, a delightful sound that makes Emma's chest achingly warm.

A frown crosses her face as she wonders if she's ever heard her laugh like that before. She regrets her reply when Regina shifts too, pulling her hand and her warm magic away.

“Yes, we've established this _and_ the fact that you need me to remain coherent on this godforsaken piece of driftwood.”

Emma bristles, rising shakily to her feet. “I don’t _need_ you.”

Regina scoffs, rising alongside her with a shrug.

“Fine, be my guest, faceplant on my tiled floor before I can stabilize the rest of your magic.”

Emma closes her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to regain her bearings. She swallows hard, reopening them to see that Regina was now halfway across the room.

“If you won’t let me help you, then get out.” Regina says dismissively.

Emma growls, but complies, walking the short distance over to her cabin and collapsing weakly upon her bed.

* * *

Emma tosses and turns that night, mind overactive with Regina's words. She needed to learn magic, there was no question about it. But with the tension brimming between her mother and Regina and their sordid past, she was reluctant to set it at an even higher level.

_You want her to love you even though you think you're above it all, _she berates herself, sighing heavily as she gazes up at the ceiling. She turns onto her side on the tiny uncomfortable bed, staring out the porthole and up at the night sky.

The rest of the activities on the ship die down and soon it's the middle of the night and Emma's eyes were still wide open. She squeezes her eyes shut, desperately trying to ignore her impulse to check the corridor and promptly gives up when something like a hiss reaches her ears.

She bolts upright in bed, eyes darting to every dark corner as her overactive mind conjures scenarios that give life to the shadows she's convinced herself lives just outside her room.

Steeling her nerves, magic pounds wildly beneath her skin as she carefully makes her way out of her bed and flings open the door, armed with a blanket and a wild determination. The empty moonlit corridor greets her mockingly like it does every night since she's been aboard the ship and Emma sighs heavily, heart returning to some semblance of normalcy as she slings the blanket around her shoulders.

Mind whirring with thoughts, she closes the door to her cabin and makes her way barefooted down the corridor and towards the steps, avoiding the creaking stair at the top and dashing across the lower deck.

The air is wilder here, dancing with a chill that cools Emma's heated skin in the illuminating light of the moon. The stars burn brilliantly against the inky darkness of the night sky and it gives Emma a bit of comfort as she aimlessly wanders up the steps towards the upper deck where she she finds Regina, huddled below the wheel of the ship glaring at the sky.

“Oh hey.” She greets, slightly awkward. Regina doesn't reply, instead, she sighs heavily but doesn't acknowledge Emma's presence. "Can't sleep?"

Regina nods, the only response Emma gets as she takes a seat next to her on the wooden floor. “I come out here on most nights.” Emma admits. "Just to stare up at the sky."

“It's comforting.” Regina answers, allowing her eyes to fall shut.

“The darkness?”

“No.”

“Knowing that Henry's beneath the same sky?”

Regina considers her answer for a moment, then nods. “He's out there somewhere."

A tense silence follows and Emma scrubs a weary palm across her face. Her thoughts filter back to a few months ago, to Boston and bail bonding and a much more lonely but equally adventurous life. She sighs, did she truly want to go back? What would her life be like if Snow and David had raised her? Would she be one of those frilly princesses she'd always despised in those Disney movies? Or would she be the way she is now? Would they accept her wholeheartedly?

Her eyes drift to Regina’s profile, highlighted in the moonlight. The wind ruffles her unfairly perfect hair as she tucks a stray strand behind her ear. She wore a silky dark blue robe that looked amazingly elegant in the limited light from above. Compared to her, Emma felt severely underdressed in her thin tank top and shorts. Self conscious, she wraps the blanket tighter around her shoulders, recalling the way they'd been pressed together a few days ago. She frowns at herself, dispelling those thoughts in a huff. Why the hell was Regina so unfairly attractive? 

Snow would be mortified at her thoughts about their sworn enemy. What if she'd fallen in love with a woman and not a designated prince? Emma's not aware of how much she's bothered by her thoughts until she's blurting out the first question she could think to ask Regina.

“Why do you always have to provoke her until she explodes?"

"Am I supposed to be following your dubious train of thought?" Regina answers dryly and Emma rolls her eyes.

"My m..." She trails off, sucking in a breath at the way her entire body still tenses at the word. "Snow."

Regina folds her arms and looks away. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

“Oh yeah? I think you do. You ruined my damn dinner.”

“You’re not a child, Miss Swan.” Regina snipes. “You’ll survive.”

Another short silence befalls them, but it isn't enough to keep Emma's intrusive thoughts at bay when her headache begins to slowly return.

“Why'd you do it?” Eyes closed and body relaxed, Regina doesn't answer or even acknowledge her question. Emma grits her teeth, the pain becoming a sharp focus in her mind. “Why the hell did you cast that curse?”

A small taunting smile flits across Regina's face and Emma glowers.

“Missing the life you would have led, _ princess_?” She mocks and Emma's patience for a straightforward answer runs out.

She slams a fist against the floorboards, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the tiny space beyween them and Regina sits up, annoyance in her eyes.

“Do you want to wake the entire realm?”

“Give me a reason.” Emma demands, suddenly way too interested in how this feud had all begun.

“You know my reason.” Regina says sharply. “You've read Henry's book.”

“The book paints you as a monster. It makes you out to be just plain evil.” Emma says. “Should I believe it?”

“Maybe I am.” Regina chuckles derisively. “Either way, I don't care what you believe, _ Savior_. And I'm not interested in rehashing years of pain for your benefit.”

Emma frowns, staggering to her feet. Regina's eyes follow her as she drifts closer, holding onto the wheel for support.

"There's something off about that whole book.” Emma continues conversationally like Regina didn't just shut her down. “And it’s also really weird for me knowing that you practically raised my mother.” Emma muses. Regina rolls her eyes. “How old are you anyway?”

“Too old to indulge your level of nonsense at this ungodly hour.”

Emma turns on her heels to regard Regina thoughtfully, ignoring her previous comment.

"I know that you casted that curse to find your happy ending." She says, staring at Regina pointedly. "So my question is, did you ever manage to find it?”

Regina stares at her searchingly and for a moment Emma thinks that she's going to ignore that question too. Instead, she sighs heavily, meeting Emma’s eyes, that deep sadness etched into the very darkness of her eyes. “I found Henry.” She says, clearing her throat.

“Then that’s all that matters,” Emma says resolutely.

“How can you say that," Regina frowns. "Knowing what I've done?"

“I guess that some part of me still thinks that none of this is real. That'll I'll wake up in Boston with one of the worst hangovers of my life and this'll all just be a very lengthy alcohol induced nightmare.” Emma admits. “Having parents. Having Neal back only to lose him.” She shrugs, eyes drifting shut. “The only thing that feels real-”

“Is Henry.” Regina finishes for her. Emma nods and they share a brief smile as an understanding passes between them.

“For a long time, he was the only thing teetering me to the world, to sanity, to a happy ending.” Regina shares, fingers curling tightly as she gazes skywards.

Emma frowns, shifting so she's looking directly at Regina. “And now?”

“Now?” Regina replies, jaw clenching as vulnerability shines brightly in her eyes. “I feel lost.”

“We’re gonna get our son back.” Emma says, determination filling her words. "We have to keep believing that."

“My son,” Regina says, raising an eyebrow. Emma rolls her eyes and turns on her heels, continuing her pacing with a little difficulty as that pain lances through her forehead.

“Whatever, your majesty.”

Silence falls between them again, punctuated by the rush of the waves beating against the ship and the soft creaks of the ship as it dips with the flow of the waters. Emma turns to Regina, eyes bright as she considers her, curiosity burning within at the magic tumbling just beneath her skin. The same magic that Regina wants her to use.

“Ever since I’ve gotten here, these migraines have been driving me insane. I’ve felt…” Emma trails off, searching for the perfect way to describe them. “Like I'm drunk in the brain.” Regina twists to look at her, dark eyes curious but giving nothing away. “What?” Emma asks defensively, cheeks burning as she looks away. “Don't judge me.”

“It’s likely the magic in the air,” Regina says matter of factly. Emma’s head lolls in her direction, a raised eyebrow inviting Regina to continue. “You're not used to the intricacies that go into maintaining the pull of your magic in different realms.”

“Are you sure you're not just saying this because you wanna teach me magic?”

Regina scoffs. “Don't be ridiculous.”

Emma shrugs. “That never happened in our world, or in the world, I grew up in.”

“That's because our realm is ideally where you belong, and the land without magic is a realm that you've had years to adjust. I'm sure that your magic has manifested in ways that would suit you.”

Emma's eyes narrow, headache returning as she grits her teeth. She allows herself to sink back into that space directly beside Regina, pulling her blanket a bit closer when the rough winds whoosh across the deck.

“In what ways?”

Regina closes her eyes for a moment and Emma's skin tingles again, like an itch that she can't stop. Within a few seconds, Regina eyes reopen and they glow that faint iridescent purple that makes Emma's skin warm all over. Emma immediately shifts as something whooshes in the air between them, plunking firmly into the wooden base of the steering where Emma's head was resting moments ago.

“Holy shit!" Emma splutters, eyes darting from the length of the rusty red dart now embedded deep into the wood a fraction from her nose. “You nearly -!”

“But I didn't.”

“What kind of fucked-up game are you playing?” Emma retorts sharply, letting out a shaky breath as Regina's eyes coolly meet hers. "You nearly nailed me in the fucking face!”

“But the point is that I didn't.”

“Regina!” Emma hisses.

Regina smirks, plucking the rusty dart from the wall between them and twirling it between her fingers.

“You reacted, didn't you?”

“Barely!”

Regina rolls her eyes. “It's called instincts, Miss Swan. Magical instincts.”

Emma's jaw tightens. “I'll show you some magical instincts.”

Regina laughs a rich sound that raises that tingle in Emma's skin once more as a curious glint flashes in her eyes. “Don't make promises you can't keep.”

Emma pauses, blinking owlishly. “Was that…” she frowns. “are you flirting with me?”

Regina's eyes widen as she abruptly shifts. “Don't be ridiculous, I hate you.”

Emma laughs, the knowledge that it would irritate Regina making her even giddier as Regina glares. “Your voice went all low and your eyes, they're super intense.”

“And that means I'm flirting?”

Emma shrugs, an impish smile curving her lips. “I've had enough women come on to me to know when I'm being flirted with.” She shrugs, smirking mirthfully at Regina. “That was some blatant flirting.”

“If you don't shut up those will be your famous last words.”

“You aren't denying it.” Emma points out, bumping Regina's shoulder with her blanket covered one. Regina glowers at her.

"I think that's my cue to leave since you're going to be obnoxious about it no matter what I say.”

Emma pokes her playfully in the side. “Admit it, you like me.”

Regina rolls her eyes, folding her arms. “And you like women. Just as I suspected.”

Emma squints. "You've thought about my personal preferences?"

"I -" Regina stammers and Emma revels in this rare moment where she's caught her off guard. "Don't be daft, Miss Swan."

“You're avoiding my question.”

“And you're barely avoiding a violent end by drowning in the ocean.” 

Emma smirks, wiggling her eyebrows. “You promise?”

Regina growls low in her throat and Emma almost tastes the hint of magic tingling in the air as she leans closer to growl in her face. “If you continuously insist on being this obnoxious I won't hesitate to kill you.” She strikes out with a snarl, fingers clawing empty air when Emma instinctively shifts away.

“Whoa!” Emma gasps, eyes glittering with amusement. “I totally knew you were going to do that.” She chuckles softly, grabbing Regina's wrist when she strikes out again.

“Damn you and your foolish instincts.”

“Hey, you were praising them a minute ago.” Emma frowns, head falling back against the wooden base as Regina wrenches her hand away. “Ok look, I'll stop.”

“Good.” Regina huffs. “I’d hate to have to explain to Henry what became of his other mother.”

Emma smiles as Regina's eyes briefly meet hers but it instantly fades as a ripple of pain thunders across her forehead. “Just...do that thing where you run your fingers through my hair and my head feels better.”

Regina squints at Emma and Emma's face burns the longer she remains silent.

“I'm not here to pamper you, Savior.” She says eventually, turning away.

Emma grits her teeth, the mirth fading from her voice as her skin starts burning up. “Okay look, I'm done playing. I need relief.”

“And I'm just supposed to give it to you?”

Emma's fingers curl tightly in Regina's robe, an unintentional growl escaping her lips. “I'm not asking you again.”

Regina stares back evenly, a dark smile curling at the corner of her red painted lips at Emma's stern tone.

"Are you threatening me?” She asks in the most gleeful voice Emma's ever heard. Emma raises an eyebrow, not backing down. 

“You're kinda fucked up, you know that?”

Regina chuckles, a rich dark sound that raises tingles along Emma's skin.

“There are worse things to be.” She side-eyes Emma briefly before casting her gaze back towards the sky. “Besides, I didn't think you had it in you, Savior.”

Emma's fistful of her blouse tightens. “Help me.” She insists a desperate note to her voice as her forehead creases with pain. But Regina doesn't move an inch.

“I can only offer you temporary relief.” She raises a pointed eyebrow, gesturing to where Emma's fingers had been flickering with bolts of white magic against her clothes. Emma yelps and quickly pulls her hand away. 

“I - I'm sorry. Did I -?” 

“No,” Regina says reassuringly. “But you need to learn how to control your magic.”

Emma shakes her head. “Regina, _please_.”

“You have to, otherwise it will keep manifesting as some form of illness.”

“I can't.” Emma groans pitifully.

“You're trying to block it out,” Regina explains. “Let yourself feel the magic around you, become its conduit, don't resist it.”

Emma grits her teeth, eyes locked with Regina’s. "What if I…” she stops abruptly, shaking her head.

“Then I can’t help you,” Regina says dismissively, moving to stand up.

“No wait,” Emma says shakily, reaching out and clasping a hand around Regina’s wrist. 

Regina tenses but Emma doesn't let go until she returns to her original position. “What if I lose control? What if I -”

“Become like me?” Regina smirks. It's a valid question, one that Emma's thought often about but the levity in Regina's voice doesn't reach her eyes.

Emma shakes her head. “I didn't mean-”

“There are things you don't know about, Savior.” Regina begins lowly, eyes shying away from Emma's. “Factors that shaped my life that has led me down the path I took.”

“Factors like...my mo- um, Snow?” 

“Among other things.” Regina sighs, eyes falling shut as her fingers tangle with Emma's, instantly calming that wild magic deep within her chest. "But your magic is different.”

“How?”

“You don't have my rage, my darkness. I don't sense anything malicious in your magic.” She admits. “You're good.” She wrinkles her nose. “Pure.”

Emma chuckles, head lolling back against the wooden base as Regina disentangles their fingers and easily threads a hand through Emma's wild mane of curly hair, fingers briefly skimming the nape of her neck. Emma hums, way beyond caring that Regina knows that she enjoys it.

“I thought that was a good thing.”

“It is,” Regina says simply, magic whispering at her fingertips and sinking into Emma's skin. Emma's heartbeat quickens as her own magic flares, receding back to that point within her chest. “You simply lack control.”

“Okay." Reassured for the moment, Emma inhales a shallow breath before locking eyes with Regina. "I'm ready for you to teach me magic.”


	4. Connection

Emma’s Swan’s life felt like one of one of those stories Disney movies were based off, where a seemingly unimportant side character discovers they have a larger than life destiny and ends up on a quest to rescue a loved one, heroically facing many perils in order to do so.

Add in some awkwardly over protective parents, a broody pirate and the fact that said _hero_ was secretly holed up in her tiny cabin learning the art of _magic_ from her mother’s sworn enemy in order to defeat a child villain and save their son and her story would be complete.

Regina had unceremoniously barged into Emma's cabin at the crack of dawn the morning after she had agreed to learn magic. Emma wasn't even fully awake when the woman had started lecturing her on the different levels at which one would use magic. It was all interesting...but so very boring and Emma had all but drifted off at the sound of Regina's voice droning on about the ogre wars, dark ones and daggers, fairies who made curses and _the history of magic. _She'd woken up to a hard smack upside the head a few minutes later, sending her sprawling onto the tiny bed where she'd initially been seated.

That had spurned an argument that had lasted several minutes but when Regina had threatened to leave and never come back, Emma had instantly deflated.

Emma wanted to get to the _good_ part, to the _actual_ magic. But when they finally did, she'd spent the better part of that first day staring blankly at her hands where Regina had ordered her to summon a tendril of her magic. They'd spent the entire morning until Snow had come barging in, requesting Emma's presence on deck for their mandatory duties. She'd balked at the presence of Regina in Emma's room and the next day, after Emma's chores, they'd gone to Regina's room instead.

Regina had started out extremely calm, but as the day wore on with no sign of Emma's magic in sight, she'd gotten increasingly irate.

What Emma would give to skip to the ending of the story, she thinks for the millionth time since attempting to consciously manifest her magic. 

"Maybe I'm just tired." She says offhandedly, casting her gaze towards Regina's tensed form studiously glaring at her from the edge of her stupidly large comfy looking bed. "Or maybe I have stage fright since you wont stop looking at me like you want to drown my corpse in the sea." 

"I can't believe that I actually thought you had potential." Regina laments, arms tightly folded as her probing gaze lands upon Emma's magic-less hands.

"Well maybe the air in here is stuffy." Emma shoots back.

"_You're_ the one who wanted to hide out here like we're doing something wrong." Regina says with a roll of her eyes.

Huffing loudly, Emma meets Regina's eyes, tilting her head. She did have a point. "Then let's head towards the lower deck." She shrugs and Regina immediately springs to her feet like she'd been waiting for those words.

Snow and David were at their usual spot, David with his fishing rod alongside Snow who was deeply engrossed in knitting what was now beginning to look like a beautifully hand crafted blanket. It brought a host of memories to Emma's mind because of its uncanny resemblance to the one she'd been found in. It brings a lump to Emma's throat, one she tries to ignore as she follows Regina across the deck.

Hook greets them both with a cursory nod and Regina and Emma stand a few feet apart like Regina's been showing her, but this time, with a captive audience.

Nerves bloom in Emma's stomach as she briefly locks eyes with her parents but a firm tug on her wrist brings her into the dark eyes of Regina.

"Magic is emotion." Regina starts, ignoring Emma's parents altogether as she loosens her strong grip on Emma's wrist. Emma's eyes flicker to the point of contact between them where Regina doesn't let go. Instead, she delicately trails her fingers along Emma's inner wrist and turns the hand over so Emma's palm is visible. "The harmful ones can twist it beyond recognition, into weapons of the mind that can cause physical harm to the body." She continues and a low simmer starts along Emma's skin from their joint hands.

It intensifies when Regina focuses on it making Emma grit her teeth as anger flares through her, stabbing like sharp pricks of pins and needles at the edges of her consciousness. Before Emma can pull away, the sensation stops, giving her flesh reprieve as a cool sensation rushes in to soothe the lines of angry red now curling across her palm.

"The warm emotions, the ones that forge the very bonds that link us together, those can also be used to attack, but they're by no means any less powerful. The only difference is that they're overwhelmingly positive and can come more naturally to some where they're difficult to others."

Another sensation washes over Emma, like the faint tangible stirrings of peace teasing at the corners of her mind as Regina's hands gently cup hers. Emma's brows furrow, face warming when Regina's eyes briefly meet hers and something tugs low within Emma's gut, rising eagerly to meet the caress of Regina's purple magic.

The moment they link together, Emma's palms glow, the red lines healing in an instant. Emma's breathing labours, the feelings stirring within her chest amplifying the magic pouring across her hands and directly onto Regina's. Regina sucks in a sharp breath, unceremoniously ripping her hands away and putting an end to the literal magic of the moment. It causes Emma to stumble, the forcefulness of the action catching her off-guard, but she's able to right herself before she crashes into Regina.

"Your magic..." Regina starts, voice strangely groggy. She clears her throat again, taking a few steps back before making eye contact with Emma. "It's potent. All you have to do is direct it. Bend it to your will."

Emma frowns, staring at her now slightly trembling hands. "How do I do that?"

"It shouldn't be difficult to think about a moment you cherish. Use it to fuel your magic and try shaping it into a fireball."

Regina demonstrates with hers, summoning a fireball with fluid ease to her open palm. It's something she's seen Regina do a few times now, but it still manages to surprise her. Emma nods, brows furrowing as she tries to settle upon a memory she cherishes. Her magic tingles along the back of her neck, the stirrings of it like viscous threads, difficult to pull and even harder to shape.

She reflects on her life, on brief moments with people who've taught her some hard but valuable lessons, on the ones she misses and the only one that's kept her going - the previously faceless memory of her son. Henry's cheeky face flashes in her mind, the night he'd come crashing into her life of monotony in Boston clear as day. She smiles faintly and her magic stirs, forming a line of fire that flickers and then immediately dissipates when Snow's audible gasp reaches her ears.

Emma's eyes meet Snow's from across the way, a flurry of emotions she's struggled to contain flooding to the surface as her mother stands with a palm across her mouth, eyes bright with something like disappointment mixed in with a deep sadness.

It freezes Emma to the spot and David springs to his feet, giving her a reassuring nod as he wraps an arm around Snow and turns to lead her below deck.

"Oh, come on!" Regina grumbles and Emma's finally able to look away from their retreating forms. "Why did you stop? That attempt was _almost_ passable."

“Never mind the Evil Queen, Swan, I think you conjured that fire just fine.” Hook interjects and Regina scowls.

“Why don’t you go play pirate and leave magic to the expert?” Regina's caustic reply to Hook makes him bristle even at the threat of a burning fireball in her other hand.

“Knock it off you two.” Emma interjects tiredly and the anger she detects burning through her own magic falls to a low simmer as she crushes her palm to out her even sadder second attempt at a fireball. A hand placed on her shoulder startles Emma as Regina reminds her to focus and remain as level headed as possible.

Hook scoffs and takes off in the opposite direction, telling them that he’ll probably join Snow and Charming in lamenting about Emma's loss of innocence. It doesn’t garner so much as a look from Emma, who is back to concentrating on her hands and her tingling magic that springs to her fingers more eagerly when Regina's there to direct it. Hook grumbles, throwing Emma hurt glances over his shoulder as he retreats, looks that Regina catches and sneers at when she thought Emma wasn't looking.

* * *

That night at the dinner table, things were once again tense.

Emma knows that its her fault, that she'd ignored Snow's warnings and still asked Regina to teach her magic. 

And then she'd started those magic lessons without informing her parents. But was it _really_ their business? _They_ didn't have magic. They couldn't feel how right, how wholesome Emma felt even as she struggled to summon a fireball. They couldn't feel the sweep of emotions curling tightly within her gut when she was able to pinpoint lines of magic woven deep into her own body. It was a part of her - something Regina had helped her to come to terms with, and Emma wasn't going to apologize for learning something that could help her rescue her son in the long run.

Snow sits stiffly across from her, the silence overbearing even as David tries to make polite conversation between them.

Regina had still showed up to dinner, even though she never ate anything with them. Her eyes settle upon Snow with a smugness that Emma wants to smack off her face but she resists, hoping to get through dinner in one peace and not cause a scene.

"Today Gold told us that he found something." Snow's soft voice announces, garnering everyone's attention. "He said that he has reason to believe that he'll find Neal on the island," Her eyes find Emma's. "alive."

Peace was apparently too much to ask for. Emma stops mid-chew to stare at Snow, the mention of Neal once again throwing her off-guard. 

She had repeatedly told herself over the years that he was dead and that she'd never see him again, but she'd never expected that Gold’s favour would be retrieving him, his son, from _ New York. _A flurry of memories she's struggled to push down over the years washes over her and she scrunches her eyes shut as she wills them away. She can’t deal with this right now. Neal had fallen into one of those magical bean portals with a sword in his side and was now _here_? On the same island they were desperately trying to find in order to retrieve Henry? What were the freaking odds?

Silence once again consumes the table, one that's uncomfortable and suffocating to Emma as the topic of Neal hangs over them once more.

"I just thought that I'd tell you." Snow continues hastily. "He's Henry's father, after all."

Emma let's out a sharp breath, nodding once, stomach clenching with unease. Nails digging into the palm of her hands, she forces her caustic reply into submission as they all resume eating.

But much like Emma, Snow was known for her rambling, and so, she continues. "I know that marriage isn't in the cards right now, but if you were still interested in him we could- "

“You have _no_ say in who I’m interested in!” Emma snarls, unable to restrain her temper. Snow visibly shrinks into David’s embrace as Emma's eyes flash, regret not able to overpower the touch of anger thundering through her veins like liquid heat. She clutches at her forehead, that headache appearing at a moment's notice and unfairly tightening that space between her brows.

“Swan, I’m sure she meant nothing by it.” Hook interjects from his perch on the chair at the furthest point in the room.

“While I would enjoy it _immensely_ if your mother passed out, I have to agree. Back in the Enchanted Forest you’d already been married and expecting your second or third child.” Regina says, giving her a pointed look, one that she combats with an annoyed huff.

"It's archaic." Emma rebuts. “This is the twenty-first century. You fairytale characters need a hot heaping dose of reality.”

“But Emma, what if it’s true love with Neal?” Snow asks hesitantly, eyes lighting briefly with that naive hope she’d briefly seen when she’d first told her about him.

Emma grits her teeth, fighting against the urge to leave the table in a huff. The topic was dredging up too many memories that she just didn't want to deal with. "Neal is _not_ my true love. I don’t _ have _ a true love."

"Do you want one?" Hook winks cheekily. Emma growls.

"You were created from true love." Snow points out. Emma's eyes fall shut as her mother's pleading voice reaches her. "Would you honestly rather use that power for whatever _she_ wants to teach you," Snow jerks her head in Regina's general direction. "instead of _creating_ a beautiful connection like that of your own?"

The question makes Emma fall silent, Snow's words tugging at Emma's deep seated insecurities on the matters of love that had long been shaped by people and situations she'd encountered in her past.

How could she look them in the eyes and tell them that she still felt lost? That she still felt like that orphan no one wants, that unlovable child who'd grown into a teen yearning for love. A teen who'd shut down after she'd been taken advantage of more times than she can count. A teen who'd grown into an adult who only had casual relationships and would dump her newest conquest, man or woman, if she felt anything like the scary stirrings of something more.

She knew of the idea of romantic love, but _true_ love? That seems like an entirely foreign concept, even if the proof and power of it ran potent in her veins.

"The lady needs to be properly wooed." Hook says simply, a charming smile curving his lips. "I happen to know all about that, if I do say so myself."

"You wouldn't know romance if it smacked you in the face." Regina replies and Emma stands abruptly, eyes intense as her magic fizzles briefly at her palms, startling her parents and drawing Regina's concerned eyes towards her from across the way.

“Let me make this abundantly clear." She says lowly, eyes briefly falling upon the silent David. Something like regret almost stills her tongue at the look of sadness also present within his eyes, but she presses on, hellbent on making them all understand. "True love doesn’t _exist_ in the real world. You date shitty people who have shitty problems like communication issues and maybe parental issues on top of that that they _never_ tell you about and before you know it you’re imprisoned for something you didn’t do while the bastard who abandoned you also managed to knock you up!"

Silence falls among the table, once again effectively ruining the atmosphere for dinner and Emma's entire body trembles, cheeks warming at the fact that she'd practically handed them all a summary about her fucked up life on a silver platter. She scrubs a weary hand across her face before meeting Snow's sad green eyes. 

"So don’t try to preach to me about true love unless it’s about my son, cause that’s as true as my love is going to get.”

“I thought you forgave Neal.” Snow's softly spoken words grab at Emma somewhere in the fog of her headache and she tears her gaze away.

“Yeah well, I lied.”

Emma breathes out shakily, fingers clenching into fists as that magic in her veins tumbles in sporadic waves that fuel her developing migraine.

“Well I think you have awful taste in men." Regina interjects, eyes focused on Emma's sparking magical hands.

“Shut the hell up Regina,” She growls before turning on her heels and stomping out of the room. Hook follows soon after and Emma allows herself to simmer in her anger, magic pulsing hotly just beneath her skin as a tendril of Regina's magic playfully tugs at it.

* * *

Emma comes back from her walk along the deck with a scowl and Hook’s arm draped around her shoulder. Regina pretends not to notice them and Snow shoots her daughter a worried look as they pass them silently along the corridor where Hook leads her towards his cabin.

David zeros in on Hook’s arm and Emma shrugs off the limb before he can address it in his stern father like voice. Emma wants to run again but she stands her ground and enters Hook's captain's quarters where he introduces her to a bottle of his favorite potent rum.

She takes one drink, the dark amber liquid burning deliciously as it slides down the back of her throat and before she knows it the bottle is empty and they're both sitting on the floor of Hook's cabin, side by side, spilling stories about their orphaned childhood.

It creates a sense of camaraderie between them, even though Hook makes it a point to hit on her at every opportunity he finds. He doesn't do anything untoward and their conversations manage to take her mind off of her own problems. She ignores his silly attempts at flirting as they get more comfortable on the floor of his cabin and ends up drifting off somewhere between his serious drunk rant about Storybrooke being difficult to adjust to in his few weeks spent there and their shared preference for strong women who take control in more ways than one.

When Emma awakens the next morning, she's greeted with a sour mouth and the fiercest headache known to mankind. She curls up on her tiny bed, wondering how she even got there but the thought cuts short when she has to rush to the porthole and stick her head through as the entire contents of her stomach roil uneasily.

The worst hangover in the history of hangovers follows, a feat Emma wishes to never experience ever again as she grabs a change of clothes and stumbles out of her room. The light of day flowing into the corridor from the deck above makes her shrink away as the strange scent of whatever Snow uses for cleaning fills the air. Clearly her mother was stress cleaning. It's something that Emma often knew her friend to do back when they shared an apartment. Regret tugs at her chest and she grimaces as the floral scent becomes stronger, her stomach extra sensitive. Not yet willing to face her parents, she diverts her path a few steps next door to Regina's cabin and a functional bathroom.

Emma pauses when she pushes open the door and Regina's magic greets her with what she categorizes as a warm welcoming _tug_. The woman herself sits at her desk having breakfast, an empty cereal bowl and a half eaten bagel next to a glass of orange juice. She greets Emma with a raised eyebrow as Emma closes the door behind her, eyes unable to leave Regina's. Her hair was well coiffed, each strand looking like it was somehow extra shiny and individually combed. Her make up was flawless, smoky eye shadow highlighting the intensity of her dark eyes and not a crinkle to be seen on her well-pressed blue blazer and black forming hugging skirt that exposed much of her legs.

Regina crosses her legs and Emma's eyes follow the action, across smooth olive skin towards dainty feet cradled in high pointed black pumps. A tiny self satisfied smirk curls at the corners of her mouth and Emma's face burns, recalling the fact that she'd accidentally exposed her interest in women to Hook while intoxicated the night before but Regina had already called her out on it a few days ago. Did she dress like this on purpose? Or was there a reason for her extra glamorous look this morning in particular?

"What's the occasion?" Emma manages to stammer out, trying in vain not to slur her speech.

Regina shrugs, eyes glittering like stardust in the light streaming into the room. "Do I need a reason to want to look beautiful?"

_But you're always beautiful_, Emma instantly thinks, clamping her mouth shut to prevent those words from spilling messily in the air between them. Regina didn't need the ego boost. She looked as if she was heading to some fancy brunch meeting back in Storybrooke before heading into the office. Emma's sluggish mind has to pause and recall that they were actually on a ship in the middle of the Neverland sea looking for a mobile island so that they could rescue their son.

Regina tilts her head, no doubt observing Emma in the same manner and Emma fidgets on the spot, crossing her arms and wondering at the picture she makes standing there with her hair askew.

"You didn't come to your magic lesson this morning." Regina states, casting her gaze back towards her bagel where she takes a delicate bite. "Did you finally grow tired of your oafish boyfriend, Miss Swan?” She asks flippantly.

The stirrings of an unfamiliar emotion tug at Emma as she walks further into the room, gritting her teeth at the baiting remark. She doesn’t answer, instead, her gaze drifts towards the shattered form of a compact mirror resting on top of the desk in the corner of the room. The empty vial previously containing Emma's blood was perched on top of it and it gives her enough reason to immediately change course. She stumbles towards it but Regina is quicker, beating her there and blocking Emma's path.

"Don't touch it!" She hisses, making Emma back up a few paces.

“What the hell is that? What did you do in here?” Emma asks, eyes widening when she notices the scribbles of what looks like incantations on different pieces of parchment looking like they''d also been written with her blood. “What the _fuck_, Regina?”

“Why do I always forget that you’re as nosy as your mother?”

“You’re deflecting.” Emma’s eyes narrow. “What the hell have you been doing in here?”

Regina bristles but doesn’t move away. She meets Emma's eyes, and tendrils of despair interwoven with strings of anger brush like a physical caress against Emma's skin. “I'm trying to find Henry, which is more than I can say for you.”

Emma rolls her eyes jutting her chin at the disturbing blood written incantations. “How the hell is going full on slasher movie cult in here gonna help us -”

“It worked a few days ago!” Regina huffs, turning on her heels to pick up the tiny picture of Henry tucked into an old broken ornate silver locket. “But I’m being blocked by..._something_.”

Emma blinks sluggishly, walking forward so she’s standing at Regina's side as they both stare down into the fractured remains of the locket. “Are you saying that you saw..." Emma swallows hard, heart quickening with the stirrings of hope she was dearly trying to hold onto during this lengthy trip. "You saw Henry?”

“For less than a second,” Regina says softly, reverently tracing the outlines of the picture showing Henry's smiling face. Emma feels a soft smile curling at the corner of her lips, because here, like this, with affection and longing in her dark eyes and a gentleness to her tone, it’s impossible to doubt Regina's love for Henry. It flickers away the minute that Emma begins asking more invasive questions.

“Where is he? How do we get there? Is he okay? Is -”

“Don’t you think I’d have mentioned something if I knew the answer to those questions?” Regina huffs, closing the locket and placing it back upon the desk.

Emma glowers, annoyance resurfacing at Regina's clipped tone. “No, not really. You did hide this.”

“Because I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up before I had a solid lead!”

Emma shrugs, walking the final steps over to Regina's immaculate bathroom, a relieved sigh slipping past her lips when she confirms that it's still there and that she still has access to it.

"Regina..." Emma says softly, eyes meeting the pained ones of her former enemy from across the room. "Hope is all we have.”

* * *

Emma barely sleeps that night, concerned about the incessant movements of what she dubs as the dancing silhouettes outside of her cabin at all hours during the night. She was able to survive her hangover from Hook's enchanted rum but she misses the deep blissful sleep it was able to drag her into. Still, it was enough to awaken that morning, even after only sleeping for a few hours, without a pounding headache.

After changing into her worn grey tank top and only pair of jeans, she joins Regina on the lower deck for another compelling magical lesson.

Her parents don't bring it up, but they do make it a point to observe from a distance, so close yet so far as Emma makes slight progress in summoning her magic without Regina's help. Her focus is off, as she blinks tired eyes down at her magic filled palms, desperately trying to form that elusive fireball.

_Maybe an actual good night of sleep would work wonders_, she thinks miserably as Regina yells at her for the thousandth time. She wore a stylish green blouse that clung modestly to her chest and an even more stylish version of those leather trousers Hook had offered to Emma at the start of their journey. Simply put, she looked absolutely breathtaking and Emma was having an even harder time concentrating with Regina occasionally brushing up against her side, startling Emma when she fixes her stance and the position of her hands. 

It was all sweet torture, torture Emma could take if she slept in a bed like Regina's. The thing could probably hold all of them on this ship and still have room for someone else. She couldn’t exactly go up to Regina and be like _hey, can we sleep together?_’ Her face warms on hearing the way she's phrased the words and she shakes her head, rolling her eyes at herself.

“Not like _ sleep _ sleep together but like_ normal _ sleep together because that bed is fucking _ huge_.” She mutters to herself.

“Concentrate, Miss Swan.” Regina says sternly, spooking Emma and causing her to flinch when Regina's magic filled hands press against her outstretched palms, stirring the magic she's been trying to move beyond the surface of her palms for the past half hour or so. Emma's magic follows Regina's lead easily, rising into the air when she moves away but falling flat when Regina's lets go of it in order for Emma to attempt on her own.

Emma sighs heavily, closes her eyes and tries to stir that magic within her veins, finally calling more of it to her palms like Regina's been instructing.

Warmth blooms against her palms, that feverish warmth that moves from that point at the base of her neck to tingle down her arms and - a light touch against Emma's inner wrists makes her startle, bringing her directly into the dark eyes of Regina. Those unbelievably soft hands were cupping hers again, stirring that warmth in her fingertips and deep within her chest, making Emma's breath catch in her throat.

“What are you-?”

“Look down.” Regina instructs and Emma breathes out sharply, eyes following the lines of magic that had sprung from her palms. It was now covering her forearms, trailing like lines of liquid down her hips and curling around her legs. Emma felt it intimately. She was keenly aware of each tendril that had been summoned, in awe of the way they were like extensions of herself, teasing at the air.

“Where does your center of gravity lie?” Regina asks conversationally, positioning Emma with her palms outstretched before taking several steps back.

Emma's brows furrow. “Ah...my feet?”

“Typically, it's the area behind the belly button. But it depends on your posture and how you balance yourself.” Regina explains, summoning her own magic. Emma detects its presence in the air within seconds and studies how Regina directs it along her own body with a skill and precision that was enviable. “Breathe deeply, feel the magic blossoming in your stomach and send it down your legs and beneath your feet to restore your balance.”

Emma inhales a sharp breath, shaking out her limbs as she focuses on the lines of her palms. The slight nausea still tingling at the edges of her consciousness dissipates the minute her own magic restores balance beneath her heels, giving Emma a sharper focus and clearing her head of the lingering traces of that ever present headache.

"This is a technique that you can use as you grow accustom to the shape and feel of your magic." Regina says. "It's heals the body and the skill level to even summon it shows that you can handle shaping magic to your whim."

Emma nods and after a few more minutes she releases her careful hold on it, feeling more refreshed that she has in days.

“Neverland magic is...” Regina pauses, searching for the right word. “Slippery.”

Emma makes a face, eyeing Regina warily. “That sounds _ disgusting_.”

Regina rolls her eyes, holding out a hand to easily summon a fireball. Emma pouts, envious at the ease with which Regina manoeuvres magic as a flame flickers to life within seconds.

“Any magic practitioner can tell how my magic is just slightly off in this realm." Regina says, indicating the slight shade of green tinging the edges of her magic and making the fireball glow eerily. "Magic here is harder to grasp than our home realm. I have to expend more energy than I usually would in order to summon it."

"So if you use up too much...what would happen?"

"I'd feel faint, or probably pass out from the pain."

Emma's eyes widen. "Wouldn't that already be happening to me?"

Regina pauses a few spaces away, considering Emma's words. "Your magic is...different. You have an immense reservoir of it." She closes her eyes and a surge of warmth rushes against Emma's skin. It moves from her forehead down to her toes as Regina's magic blankets her own. "I can feel it." Regina adds and Emma blinks distractedly, in awe of the feelings it stirs in her chest, a feeling that cloaks her in safety as Regina's dark eyes meet hers. "That alone can make you a formidable opponent in any battle."

Emma frowns, casting her eyes down to her magic filled palms. "Then why is summoning it so difficult?"

"Control." Regina says simply, delicately waving a hand in the air that coils a tight wave of purple magic at her whim. "Ideally, a novice like you should be on our soil learning the craft. But if you can manage to do it here, anywhere else would be like a walk in the park.”

Emma's hands tighten into fists, determination burning brightly in her eyes. “I think I'm ready to try it again."

Regina nods, turning on her heels and walking across the way, towards the other side of the ship. She pauses when she reaches just beneath the largest mast on the other side of the ship, eyes glowing that strange purple as she locks eyes with Emma from across the way. That magic within Emma's veins stir, almost dragging her forward with its magnetism. Emma takes an unsteady step forward, trying to resist the urge to follow its call over to Regina.

"I want to see what you're really capable of!" Regina shouts over the whisper of the wind wafting over the deck as the calming rush of the waves echo across the space between them. Magic curls at her hands, its destructive taste setting the air ablaze against Emma's skin even from that distance away. Emma's helpless to the allure of it, to the way her magic surges, skirting across her palms like a siren call.

“So come on, Savior.” Regina taunts, a smirk curling at the corner of her lips. “I'll help you with your control. Attack me with full force."

Emma hesitates, that precarious hold she has on her magic slipping. “I...I don't know...”

Regina smiles, one that gleams wickedly in the afternoon sun. “Then I'll start.”

Regina dives across the deck, legs aglow as she shifts with an unnatural speed. She sends a wave of magic crackling in the air towards Emma and Emma's eyes widen as she freezes in disbelief. Her magic fueled hands react on pure instinct, intercepting the blow at the last minute but the strength of the wave lands its intended hit, sending her flying till her back bashes roughly against the barrel a few meters behind. 

Emma groans, magic crackling along her fists as she grits her teeth and gets groggily to her shaky feet, sending a blast of magic that barely manages to singe the edges of Regina's blouse as she gracefully avoids the wave of the attack with a graceful twirl.

Emma's parents are incredibly silent on the sidelines, but she feels the intensity of their stares and it spurs her onward, closing the distance she'd given up to Regina as her magic chases after the purple tendrils of magic that dance just beyond their reach. It's a bit unnerving, but with Regina's help, Emma's magic is easily malleable as she blasts it towards Regina's chosen hiding place, breaking apart a host of barrels and ripping one of the larger masts straight down the middle.

She balks at the raw power emanating from her hands, but doesn't have time to process Hook's caustic remarks about leaving his ship in one peace as Regina sends another attack her way, one Emma manages to avoid with a well timed parry she recalls learning from David. The attack zooms back at Regina and she dives out of the way with fluid ease, jumping to her feet in the next second and raining magical darts down upon Emma's side of the deck. She blocks the attack with a white magical shield and aims at Regina with her newly forged magical revolver.

Emma's eyes gleam, the familiar yet different feel of a firearm summoned with a thought in her head making her giddy at the realism as it fires bullets made from pure white light that busts through Regina's carefully constructed shield.

They continue their strange dance, Regina's magic calling out Emma's in a taunting manner that makes her want to win this little game she's started. Her agility is a source of distress for Emma, but she stands her ground, sending her magic in an icy wave across the deck to slow Regina down. 

"Nice try, Swan." Regina taunts, purple irises glowing in that beguiling manner that makes Emma's magic rise towards it as it washes the entire deck, melting away the thin layer of ice and freezing Emma to the spot. Her magic descends against Emma's skin, a violet mist that coils like a tight rope and Emma's breath catches in her throat.

Regina's upon her in seconds, that agility bringing her inches away from Emma's face and catching her off guard. Emma inhales a sharp breath, hands flickering with magic that Regina restrains with just a tilt of her head as she stops assisting Emma with her control of it. Emma's magic grows heavier, the tendrils like viscous liquid, difficult to move and even harder to manipulate. 

"That's fucking cheating." Emma grits out and Regina chuckles, a deep husky sound that sets Emma's heart aflutter.

"Pressing every advantage is essential in any fight." Regina leans in to whisper against her ear, dark eyes alight with magic and mischief focused intently on Emma. Emma shivers at the feel of it, at the way Regina's breath washes over her sensitive collarbone and warms her from the inside out.

Magic springs to life at Emma's fingertips, humming with an intensity that makes her eyes glow in response.

"Does this mean that I win?" Emma asks, a cocky lilt to her voice as her once immovable hands move to grasp Regina by the shoulders.

Tingles rush across her arms and Regina's eyes lose their glow almost immediately, her smug smile disappearing as Emma's magic overpowers her. But Emma's precarious hold on it slips and her magic goes spiraling over their heads towards the other side of the ship.

Regina gasps, grabbing hold of Emma's hands and directing the magic away from the ship. It spirals into the air, hissing and crackling like fierce lightning bolts that explode and fade into nothingness. All except for an elusive tendril of white magic. It breaks off from the rest and races towards Emma's parents, slamming into David as he pushes Snow out of the way. He goes down with a hard _thump_, blocking the magic with his right arm as it scorches a jagged red line across his pale skin.

He cries out in agony and Snow's at his side as Regina tightens her hold on Emma and magics them over there in an instant. Emma falls to her knees, mortified as Snow cradles her injured prince.

"David!" She cries and Emma's throat tightens, hands trembling as David roughly pulls himself into a sitting position.

"It's okay, Snow." He says reassuringly, teeth clenching at the pain as his eyes meet Emma's. "I'm alright."

"I'm never going to do magic again." Emma rushes out, breathing shaky as David's sad eyes meet hers. "I - I'll stop, I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" 

David squeezes his eyes shut and Emma wants to melt right into the wooden floor.

"Oh for Gods' sake." Regina says irritably, tangling her fingers with Emma's trembling hand. Emma's eyes briefly meet hers and Regina stoops at her side, placing a hand upon David's injured arm. "Think of something that makes you happy." Regina instructs but Emma's too shaken to comply.

"R-Regina." She forces out the name around the huge lump in her throat, eyes briefly meeting Snow's as she shakes her head. "I can't."

"We're going to heal him." Regina says decisively, tugging on Emma's hand. "We need to undo this."

Emma breathes in a shaky breath, nodding mutely. She closes her eyes, thoughts going straight to Henry and before she realizes what's happening, Regina's magic is tugging Emma's along like a willing companion, enveloping David's arm in a light purple and white mist that reduces the redness of David's skin and heals the red line.

Snow breathes out a relieved sigh when David experimentally moves his arm, smiling at his daughter and then at Regina when he confirms that he no longer felt any pain. 

Emma and Snow are in his arms within the next moment, Emma chanting a mantra of sorrys that makes David hold tighter onto her, pressing a loving kiss to her forehead while Snow presses teary kisses to his newly healed arm.

It's impossible to separate the three of them for a while.

* * *

“If my magic is so _ good _ then why did it hurt David?” Emma asks when the excitement has died down and they'd all relocated to the small kitchen in time for lunch. 

“Because he was too dim to see the attack coming!” Regina huffs, glaring at the previously injured prince. 

"That attack occurred at lightning speed. There was no way he could have seen it."

"They were observing us the entire time." Regina replies, reproachful eyes meeting Snow's. "I'm sure that they could have relocated at any point."

“No one told us you were commandeering the _entire_ deck let alone teaching our daughter _ magic_.” Snow returns with a frosty glare of her own. Emma's stomach clenches and she sighs heavily, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry. I thought that..." She trails off as they all stare at her.

“The last time I checked, your _ daughter _ was a fully grown adult sometimes capable of common sense and consent.” Regina says dismissively. “Besides, he’ll live,” she shrugs. “It was barely a graze and it's all healed now.”

“I don't know Emma, all of this seems…” Snow trails off, eyes locking with David's. “A bit too much.”

“I'm alright, Snow.” David says reassuringly and Emma bites her lower lip, wringing her fingers tightly together.

“Are we continuing or not?” Regina asks, folding her arms. Emma sighs ruefully, but before she can reply, Regina continues. “Control doesn't just _ happen _ overnight, Emma, regardless of how naturally gifted you are.”

Emma pauses, squinting as her eyes lock with Regina's. “Wait, did you just call me _ Emma_?”

“Of all the things.” Regina grumbles, scrubbing a weary palm across her face.

“And was that a _ genuine _ compliment?”

“You know what? We're done for today.”

“Of course you're naturally gifted, Swan.” Hook interjects from the deck above, his voice muffled as it reaches them. “Hell, I'd even say that _ you _ make magic look good.”

Emma cracks a smile, rolling her eyes. But her expression falters when she catches sight of Mary Margaret bandaging David’s arm as a precaution.

* * *

That night, Emma forgoes having dinner with her parents. Instead, she slips over to Regina's cabin to pitifully request a grilled cheese sandwich and takes it along with a bottle of root beer back to her room.

Snow arrives just as she's finished getting ready for bed, standing in Emma's doorway wringing her fingers like she doesn't know if she should come in or not.

Emma sighs, motioning her in as she sits up on her small bed. She knew this conversation was coming. She just wasn't prepared to hear an _I told you so_ from Snow with the accident so fresh in their minds.

"I wanted to thank you..." Snow starts softly, shrugging a shoulder.

Emma blinks, confusion in her eyes. "For what?"

"For healing David with your magic." Snow replies, shoulders tensing when the last word leaves her mouth. But a grateful smile curls at her lips as her green eyes turn slightly glassy. "I...I know that must have taken a lot."

Emma inhales a sharp breath, unprepared for the way some of those knots in her stomach instantly loosen. "Hey don't look at me," She says, deflecting the emotional praise."Regina did all the work."

Snow nods thoughtfully, biting her lower lip. "I see."

A part of Emma was elated that her mother had come to extend an olive branch even though she was sensitive about Emma using magic. But the rebellious part of her just wanted her to leave.

Silence envelops them, one that makes Emma reflect on the accident from earlier. She'd never seen them that way before. David looked so small and defeated and Snow scared beyond belief. It was all by Emma's hands, because she had decided to learn magic regardless of what they thought. 

“Emma.” Snow calls worriedly, placing a comforting hand against her daughter’s shoulder. Emma bristles beneath the touch, gruffly swiping at her traitorous eyes as tears spill messily down her face. Snow doesn’t pull away, braving through the mixed emotions Emma was sending out. “Honey, look at me.” She pleads, lifting her warm palms to gently cup Emma’s cheek and lovingly wipe the rest of her tears away. Emma stares back at Snow through wet green eyes and her heart _aches_. It aches so much that she just wants to crawl into Snow's arms and bawl her eyes out and ask her to never let her go, no matter how much of a screw up Snow realizes that she is.

But Emma was far too emotional to even begin to communicate that in so many words. Snow seemed to understand her pain and her eyes filled with tears of her own.

Emma’s lower lip wobbles and Snow leans forward, pulling her into a hug. But Emma resists the comfort of it and instead drifts out of it, holding Mary Margaret, _Snow_, at a careful distance as she stares at her. Snow shakes her head, gently interlacing their fingers, that longing palpable between them.

There was so much left unsaid, so much that Emma wants to say to this woman but it sticks in her throat. She gives the woman she was slowly coming to accept as her mother a weak smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, unable to cross the rest of their emotional distance.

“I’m going for a walk.” Emma murmurs, slipping her blanket across her shoulders as she rises from the bed. Snow nods, letting go of her hands, albeit reluctantly. They step outside of Emma's cabin, some of the tension having faded from their shoulders as they briefly regard each other before Emma turns on her heels and starts down the dark corridor.

"Please don't stay out there too late." Snow calls after her. Emma gives a slight wave in acknowledgement of the words as she disappears around the corner and starts up the couple of steps leading her towards the silent deck and the calming darkness of the Neverland sea.

* * *

With David's encouragement, Emma resumes her training with Regina within a couple of days.

They don't engage in any more combat, but Emma misses the feel of it as she struggles to maintain the fireball gleaming brightly in her hands.

She closes her eyes, the gentle slosh of the waves against the ship and the mist it launches in the air sprinkling against her warm skin as magic vibrates in waves beneath it. They draw outwards against her palms, flaring brightly against Emma's closed lids. When she reopens her eyes, a perfect fireball burns against her palms for a second before blinking out.

"Did you see that?!" Emma does a fist pump, mirthful eyes finding Regina's. "I freaking did it!"

"Yes, now _maintain_ it." Regina says pointedly, folding her arms as Emma lets out a lengthy sigh. 

She's back at it again and within minutes a brilliant fireball is burning brightly and with a stable amount of magic within her palms. 

"I think that calls for a celebration." Hook's voice cuts in and Emma's head jerks up to meet his rakish grin. "Anyone care for some rum?"

"Already beat you to it." David says smugly as he clears the steps, producing a full bottle of the rum Emma and Hook had downed a few nights ago. Emma chuckles, disbelief at the excitement in his voice and the stirrings of acceptance in his eyes when he says that he's rooting for her.

Hook's eyes widen, darting from the bottle of rum and back to David with rapid speed as he slings an arm around David's shoulder. "Mate, did you get that in my -"

An audible shriek pierces the air, cutting across his sentence as something hurtles up the steps behind them. A mass of darkness rushes across the deck, slamming head first into Hook and sending David sprawling onto the floor as it propels Hook several feet into the air. He smashes against a poll, groaning when the thing rises above him, dark slits for eyes gleaming a murderous green as it flickers like a black formless flame.

"What the hell is that thing?!" David shouts, bottle of rum long forgotten as it rolls across the deck and smashes against a barrel. Snow's at his side in an instant, swords at the ready as she helps her husband up, arming him with his sword. Hook groans, blood dripping from his mouth and staining his gritted teeth as he clutches his side, staring up at the sentient being as it hurtles towards him with lightning speed.

Regina launches her magic at it, magic that bounces off of it as Emma finally regains her bearings, summoning those white fireballs and hurtling them at the blob. It leaves less than a scratch and serves to anger it more than anything. It focuses on Regina instead and diverts its path, hurtling towards her at breakneck speed and just narrowly missing as she uses her magic to dodge and cling onto a tendril of black magic whispering across its slick oily surface.

She falls to a knee the minute her magic tries to manipulate the tendril, releasing it as her hands tremble, purple magic wavering and crackling within her palms. The black blob roars, the sound like nails against a chalkboard as it swoops down, intent on colliding with Regina. She turns towards the Savior, eyes frantic as she desperately reaches out to her.

"Emma!" Regina calls, magic finding and clinging to Emma's like a long lost connection that flares with light the minute their magics make contact and bleed into each other. Emma's body vibrates with the power of it, panicked eyes finding Regina's as Regina grabs onto her hand, stirring a crazy amount of magic within Emma like a pressurized tornado ready to release. Emma moves it across that connection brimming between them, trusting Regina to direct it as she refocuses on their opponent.

Their fingers lace together and Regina's eyes glow, sending a full blasting wave of pressurized magic flooding straight at the screeching monster. It bursts apart in waves of inky black, its cries fading in the air as the sun shines down upon the deck, a striking counterpoint to the chills flooding the people on board The Jolly Roger.

Stunned at what just occurred, everyone inhales a collective breath, confused eyes finding each other and confirming that they were all still alive.

“What the hell was _ that?_” Regina pants, breath coming out in shallow spurts as Snow and Charming cling to each other. She turns to Hook, eyes blazing. “_Explain_!” She hisses as Hook stands shakily, clutching his side.

Emma breathes in slowly, limbs trembling as her vision blurs around the edges. There’s heat at her fingertips, uncontrollable heat that dances along her skin and burns like the touch of liquid fire from the point at which her fingers were still laced with Regina's.

Hook turns his head away, eyes drifting out at sea as Snow and David envelop Emma in a family hug she doesn't even try to get out of.

“It was a shadow.”

“I heard you talking to it.” Regina says, realization dawning on her face as he meets her gaze. “It's been coming to the ship for a while now, hasn't it?"

"I have nothing to say to you." He sneers and David whips out his sword, eyes steely as he moves with surprising speed, pressing it just beneath Hook's jugular.

"You knew that _thing_ was in your room." The prince hisses, gritting his teeth as his angry eyes bore into Hook's. "You put my family in danger."

Emma's jaw clenches, head pounding with that fierce pain she’s come to know as her heart rate speeds up. She blinks hard, trying to clear the fog from her vision. 

"What the hell were you doing?" Emma hears Regina's clipped voice add. "Selling us out?”

Hook scoffs, anger in his eyes as he jerks his head away from the point of David's sword. “We’d already be dead if I weren't cooperating!”

"I knew it!" Regina hisses, eyes bright with anger. "You led us here under false pretenses, you're _working_ for Pan."

Clutching her chest, shallow breaths leave Emma's lips as her knees wobble and she groans, tongue heavy and unable to voice her concern. 

“Emma!” Snow gasps as Emma slumps against the wooden railing, limbs constricting with a fierce bout of pain. She clutches her chest, eyes burning with fresh tears and Regina’s focus is on her in seconds, dark eyes frantic with worry. Their voices sound hollow to Emma, like an invisible wall between her and them as her magic tumbles unsteadily below her skin.

"Dammit, another magic surge." Regina hisses as Snow’s eyes drift to their clasped hands. Tendrils of purple and white strands of magic spiral along their forearms, linking them together and Regina stands before her, slipping her other hand at the nape of Emma's neck.

"What's going on with her?" David asks gruffly as he pins Hook's arms behind his back. Hook hisses, unable to resist or protest much as he limps forward when David pushes him.

"Come on, Emma." Regina's voice pleads, dark eyes never leaving Emma's glassy ones as she steps even closer. Their foreheads connect and Emma's eyes flutter as Regina's magic rushes against her skin, desperately trying to calm the raging storm within her body.

It doesn't work this time. Emma cries out as pain flares tightly against her skin, even with Regina coaxing her magic into some semblance of stability.

“Let go of her! You’re zapping her like a juice box!” Snow shrieks at her side, flinty eyes locking with Regina's.

"That's the worst thing I could possibly do right now." Regina hisses, the hand against Emma's neck trembling with the force of their magic. Emma stirs briefly, eyes fluttering with effort as Regina carries her easily to the floor and Emma falls against her in a heap of weak limbs, no longer able to stay upright.

"Fix her!” Snow demands, the tears palpable in her voice. “You undo this right now or so help me!”

* * *

That’s the last thing Emma’s aware of until she's regaining consciousness what feels like minutes later.

Her entire body is stiff as she lays prone on what must be the softest mattress she’s ever experienced in her life. The lines of magic she can easily detect flowing beneath her skin are calm as soothing magical energy pulses warmly against her skin. Her brows furrow as pinpoints of magic burn with a small amount of pain that’s been dulled at her fingertips.

“You idiot,” Regina’s soft voice reaches her, finally making her aware of her presence. Their hands are still clasped together on Emma’s chest, sending those healing waves of soothing energy coalescing at that point above Emma’s heart. She opens her eyes when she feels more than hears Regina sigh heavily and lean over her, pressing her forehead to their joint hands.

They were both in the middle of Regina's plush bed, Regina on her knees, leaning heavily over Emma as the magic in her hands washes them in pale purple light. It’s surprising, seeing Regina worry over her like this. Even if it was in her own typical Regina-like way. She looks so small and vulnerable, dark locks of hair hiding her drawn face as if the weight of the world was resting upon her slender shoulders. 

Emma takes in their surroundings, noting that the comfort of the bed beneath her was in fact the bed she had been envious of. The room was also filled with a modern but artificial source of light that hung from the ceiling. Did Regina bring Emma to her cabin? She finds the unconscious bodies of her parents, curled up together on a smaller bed across the room fast asleep. Blinking rapidly, she notices the porthole above Regina’s bed showing a dark sky and an even darker sea.

She frowns, fingers tightening against Regina’s. How long was she out?

Regina’s head stirs on top of her chest at the pressure of her fingers, revealing a dazed look in those dark eyes as she blinks the sleep away.

“What happened?” Emma asks, voice gravelly from disuse as her eyes briefly flit towards their intertwined fingers. Regina inhales a deep breath but doesn’t let go, instead, she lifts an unimpressed eyebrow as she gives her reply.

“You supplied me with too much of your magic and then you fainted.”

Emma grimaces, nodding briefly as she steadily begins recalling the events of that day. “I see.”

“And in other news, the pirate is a damned traitor which surprises your parents for some reason.” Regina says casually. “Rumple and I took care of him.”

“What?!” Emma says, lifting her head off the bed only to slump back down when Regina forcefully pushes her back. 

“That’s what riles you up?"

Emma grits her teeth. “What did you do with him?"

Regina rolls her eyes. "We didn't kill your little boyfriend, Miss Swan." She says caustically. "We just imprisoned him at the steering wheel so now he has to sail until we actually get to the island."

Emma tries to get up once more but Regina pushes her back down again. "Fucking let me up." Emma hisses, eyes rapidly darting around the room. 

“You can’t.” Regina says simply.

"Why the hell not?"

“Well...” Regina trails off and Emma's eyes catch a faint trail of purple light, connecting to blue and turning into white sinking directly into that space where Emma’s heart was located. Emma gasps, shaky fingers tightening as her eyes find Regina’s.

“Wha -”

Regina’s jaw clenches as she looks away. “I’m sorry.” She says stiffly. 

“What for?” Regina’s silent for a moment and Emma’s eyes widen comically when she realizes her tunic’s been torn at the part covering the left side of her chest, exposing her fevered skin to the cool air. Her face warms, now processing the picture they made with Regina bending over her like this as something flutters low in her gut. “And what are you _doing_?” She blinks rapidly, taking stock of her stiff limbs before Regina answers her question. 

“It’s like I’ve been telling you, Neverland magic is slippery. You have to be extremely careful when using large amounts. The shadow came at us and I was a bit reckless, I thought you could handle the pressure but you -” She cuts off sharply, abruptly clearing her throat. “I’m rebuilding your magic with mine but it’s going to take a bit of time since the lines of magic in your body got disrupted.”

"What does that mean?"

"Most of them are either tangled in impossible knots or snapped completely, disconnecting you from your source."

"That sounds super serious."

Regina's laugh is hollow. "Considering you nearly died in my arms quite a few times in the space of a few minutes." She shakes her head, eyes glassy with emotion.

Fear rises in Emma's body like a palpable thread, fear for her life that she abruptly realizes isn't hers. The intensity of it sweeps over Emma, bringing tears to her eyes that she refuses to acknowledge.

Emma nods, eyes bouncing between Regina and her parents as she struggles with the emotions growing heavy in her chest. “How did we end up here?”

Regina scoffs, eyes briefly landing on Emma's parents. “Snow all but made me drag you to my room to _fix_ you.”

Emma’s eyes widen, trying to process the fear that must have overwhelmed them too. she closes her eyes. Why did magic have to be so freaking complicated?

"At any rate, it's a good sign that you're awake." Regina says, pulling her out of her thoughts. "I thought...for a moment, that I did actually lose you." She trails off and Emma inhales sharply, the fear in the words crashing over her once more. "Besides, Henry would never forgive me if I let you die before we even find land."

"Thank you." Emma says, unable to put the magnitude of her gratitude into words. But it's soft as they spill in the air between them, acknowledging something they're both teetering on the edge of. Regina nods curtly, looking away.

"Don't thank me yet, Swan. You still can't move the rest of your body until I-" Regina drifts forward weakly and Emma's fingers twitch, wanting to wrap her arms around her. She catches herself at the last minute, squeezing her eyes shut. The lines of exhaustion on her face stir a fierce protectiveness in Emma as she squeezes their fingers to get Regina's attention.

"Hey you should stop." Emma advises. "Get some rest."

"No." Regina says immediately, tired eyes locking with Emma's. "I can't...if I do you could..."

Emma nods thoughtfully, moving her fingers against Regina's. "Then let me help." She says softly, determination in her eyes. 

"It's risky." Regina shakes her head. "Too many things can go wrong."

"But you can't keep this up." Emma rationalizes. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Regina chuckles weakly. "I'm more resilient than you give me credit for."

"Regina." Emma sighs the name worriedly.

"Emma." Regina echoes her tone. "I'm not letting you do this."

Emma frowns, shaking her head. "Well you know for a fact that I'm not going to let you continue. So you have two choices. Either you help me direct my magic and get my body moving before you pass out or I do it on my own and we both know how that might end."

Regina stares at her for a moment, the challenge in Emma's eyes palpable and she sighs, relenting.

"You have a Savior complex." Regina says irritably. "It's really annoying."

"Hey I don't complain about your martyr complex so it's not fair for you to call me out when I can barely defend myself."

A tiny smile twitches at the corner of Regina's lips, breaking the stiff lines of tension on her face as she rolls her dark eyes. Emma smiles in response, shaky fingers squeezing Regina's.

"Okay." Regina sighs. "Close your eyes and follow me."

The room is silent for a moment, the only sounds are the sloshing of the foamy waves against the ship and the sounds of Emma's parents' soft snores.

"Just breathe." Regina's low voice instructs. Emma licks her dried lips, breathing in slowly as she obeys. "Feel the lines of magic flowing within and follow its movements."

Regina's fingers warm Emma's where they're curled together and Emma's magic responds mutely, carrying that warmth up towards the rest of her hands where she can now begin to feel Regina's thumb carefully stroking the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. It sends tingles cascading across her skin, a strange shiver cresting down her spine as Regina's voice drops another octave to Emma's sensitive ears.

"Notice the way your magic curls and dips, the way the knots loosen when you tug gently on them and they pulse outwards to that source deep in your chest."

Emma nods thoughtfully, growing more confident as her magic responds. It tangles with the tendrils of Regina's and spreads along her legs, upper her thighs and across her stomach.

"Don't restrict it." Regina continues softly as Emma loses herself within the tendrils of their magic, feeding them towards the paths that lead from one major part of her body to the other. "Allow it to fill you and connect the broken bridges of it as you slowly help it along its way towards the point it needs to start healing the tangled mess of lines still present around your heart."

Warmth drifts across Emma's elbows, heading up towards her chest and shuddering as it crosses the boundary of the broken lines, making them whole and scattering waves of heat down to Emma's toes. It tingles as it crosses her neck, her lips, her forehead. It swoops down towards her gut, curling in waves that make her body pulse with life and energy and Emma sighs airily, loving the feelings washing over her.

She feels more than hears Regina's inhale a sharp breath and Emma's eyes spring open as Regina's head dips. Able to move most of her hands now, Emma blinks sluggishly, a hand moving up to cup Regina's cheek. Dark eyes meet hers, Regina's skin feverish to her touch and she groans weakly as Emma tugs her forward.

Regina follows easily, sinking into the bed against Emma's side, head falling just inches away from Emma's. She breathes out shakily, turning her head so that they're facing each other. Emma becomes aware of the way Regina's knees touch the side of her legs as she regains feeling, the warmth of her hands still cradled with Emma's as Emma shifts just a little to face her.

Regina blinks slowly, that magic in her body making her eyes glow beautifully beneath her dark lashes. It spurs another rush of magic inside of Emma, warming the rest of her.

"Your magic is so...enthralling." Regina whispers in the space between them, lips barely moving as she stares at Emma, unabashed. There's awe in the glimmer of her eyes and a sort of resignation in the slight quirk to her full lips. 

"So is yours." Emma echoes her tone, unable to hide the admiration in her eyes.

A rare smile lights Regina's face and once again Emma's struck by her beauty. Her cheeks glow with it, eyes like dark magnetic waves, keeping Emma spellbound. Even with the lines of exhaustion etched across her face, in this moment, Regina has an unguarded look that makes Emma want to know everything single thing about her. The magic burning between them stretches and blooms as Emma's hand moves to cup her face and they're drawn into each other, eyes fluttering as they meet in the soft embers of a kiss as potent as magic.

Emma tastes it in Regina’s mouth, in the depth of her kiss as it scorches and tingles against Emma's making her toes curl. It whispers along the bow of her lips, filling her with need, with want, and she kisses Regina again and again, shuddering when Regina’s cool hands slide along the heated skin of Emma's arms and over her shoulders. They meet at the nape of Emma's neck, teasing at the magic beneath Emma's skin and send stirrings of an emotion she can't quite name fluttering in her chest.

Something warm blooms against her as they shift, Emma rising up on an elbow and leaning over until Regina's laying firmly against the mattress beneath her. Regina breaks off from her lips with a quiet moan and Emma's lips pay homage to the soft olive skin across her jaw and down her neck, planting a trail smooth kisses that make her squirm beneath Emma's lips. 

An image forms in Emma's mind as Regina's fingers shift to tangle in her hair, an image of a young girl with dark hair and a dried bloodied upper lip cowering behind a closed door. Regina's mouth claims Emma's once more and the image grows brighter as magic whispers like a secret caress in the spaces between them.

_ "I'm sorry." The girl cries, tears staining her delicate face as she pounds tiny fists against the small closet door. "Mother I'll do better I'll-" _

_ "Cease with your blubbering at once, Regina." A cruel voice floats across the thick door and Regina's movements abruptly still. Magic constricts her chest, freezing her fists as tears leak out of her eyes. "You have disappointed me for the last time." _

_ Terror swells like icy waves in the girls chest, memories of being restrained by this very magic making her teeth chatter. A soft whimper leaves her throat and Mother tsks, finally unlocking the door. The sun was setting outside their kitchen window, scattering orange hues across the land and Regina's jaw clenches. She'd been locked in there since Mother caught her sneaking a ride across the estate with her prized steed that morning. _

_Regina had been so terrified when she'd seen Mother coming that she hadn't taken notice of the snake winding through the grass. The horse had gotten spooked and Regina thrown off, one leg catching in the stirrup as Rocinante dragged her for a short distance. Her lip had caught on something sharp and before Regina knew it her entire outfit was bloodied. Much to the displeasure of Mother, who had been bragging about some people who were close relatives of the King coming to visit the estate that week._

_ "Go clean yourself up dear," Mother's stony eyes appraise her, upper lip curling with disdain. "I hope for both of our sake that this was this last of your insolence." _

The image shifts and blurs as Emma's brought back into the real world. She blinks owlishly, noting the way she'd crawled on top of Regina pressing their chests firmly together as her thighs bracket her hips. Emma's breathing quickens as Regina arches against her mouth, careful fingers stroking at Emma's sides as one hand slips into the hole in the side of Emma's tunic, gently cupping warm flesh. Emma groans against her lips, hands fisting in the silky blue sheets beneath them as Regina's fingers dance across her skin, painting delicate rhythmic motions across her exposed rib cage.

Another image forms this time, shifting to a horse-drawn carriage tromping across the wind swept roads of a small village and onto one with a clear view of a towering castle in the distance.

_Fear wells up inside a slightly grown up version of Regina, a sea of nausea threatening to overwhelm her as she wrings her fingers tightly together. She wasn't due there for another day but just the sight of King Leopold's castle sent helpless anger skirting down her spine. Her thoughts go back to Daniel and tears fill her eyes as her hands tremble. Her heart aches with a fierceness as his dead eyes haunt her every waking moment, Mother's hand plunging into his chest and turning his heart to ash on instant repeat in her minds eye. She blinks her tears away, steeling herself. Mother wouldn't be pleased if she ruined her make up. _

_A balding grey haired man with kind eyes dressed in his fanciest suit studies her from the side. He calls her name, gently cupping Regina's face._

_"Cheer up, mija." He implores. "We leave for King Leopold's castle tomorrow - your new home."_

_"A new prison." Regina whispers and his equally dark eyes fall, the sorrow between them palpable._

_"My one regret..." He starts, hands shaking when Regina's eyes meet his. "Is that I never was able to protect you."_

"Emma." Regina calls her name, bringing Emma back to the moment at hand. Emma leans over her, panting heavily against Regina's mouth as Regina's hands still against her sides. Another call of her name, quiet yet commanding draws Emma's eyes to Regina's as the random scene washes over her. It's only then that Emma notices the tear tracks curling across the swell of Regina's flushed cheeks. Her brows furrow, the emotions curling within her thick and heavy with sorrow. She cups Regina's cheek, gently wiping a tear away but before she can ask a question, Regina rises up, claiming her mouth in another scorching kiss as their magic tangles around them, driving the thought right out of Emma's head.

Another scene replaces it, this time with an abnormally silent forest where a man stands stiffly with folded arms. His face was almost unrecognizable with its scaly golden tinge making him look more beast than man but Emma knew instantly that it was Gold.

_A more mature Regina stands before him and he circles her like mighty predator, observing the way her hands shake around the pulsing magically enhanced heart he'd gleefully ordered her to crush. It had already been a few years but still Regina's heart races against her chest, Daniel's face flashing in her mind as Mother callously ends his life. The dark one approaches silently, his gnarled fingers skittering down her shoulders and she tenses beneath the touch, body unable to stop trembling. _

_“You are not yet ready, young Queen.” He sighs ruefully, all traces of his previous gleeful taunting gone as he turns away._

_“I am.” Regina insists, voice strong, a facade she hopes she can maintain as she meets his steely invasive eyes head on. She needed a way out of her decorative prison and he was the only one who was taking her interest in dark magic seriously. “I'm ready to-"_

_“Do this?” He asks and in seconds he moves around her, placing his hands over hers. Dark magic flows from his palms against Regina's like a rush of ice and death through her veins as he crushes the pulsing heart between her palms. The echoes of an agonized animal scream pierce the eerily silent forest air before abruptly cutting off._

_Regina slumps to her knees, visibly shaken as her eyes fill with tears. The dust from the crushed heart falls through her shaky fingers towards the earth as the dark one regards her._

_“You must rid yourself of all attachments if you wish to harness the true powers of this magic.” He says, eyes calculating yet impossibly cold. He places a finger beneath Regina's chin, making her meet his gaze. “All magic comes with a price and this is ours." He says almost sorrowfully. "The loss of innocence, an all consuming darkness of the heart and soul."_

_He disappears in a swirl of rust, taking Regina back to the middle of her cold over sized room at the castle. The echoing taunts of his cruel laugh sweep over Regina as something dark and ugly resonates within her chest. It further constricts her shallow breaths as she wraps her arms tightly around herself, trying to control the whispers of dark magic thundering through her veins and threatening to swallow her whole._

Regina pushes Emma off of her, breaking their mouths apart and automatically severing their magical connection making Emma fall against her side. Her breathing was just as shaky as Emma’s, eyes wild as they search the depths of Emma's for something Emma can't quite pinpoint. Did she see that too? Emma wonders, briefly touching her tingling lips, dizzy with the rush of potent magic. Those visions...or memories...were they Regina's memories?

Regina's eyes clear a second later, all traces of any type of emotion gone. It's a look that makes unease curl tightly within Emma's gut and when she reaches out to Regina again she flinches like Emma's touch is made of fire. Emma pulls back, confusion in her eyes at the reaction as the silence in the room becomes suffocating.

Regina abruptly clears her throat, suddenly more interested in the ceiling than Emma. “I…” She starts, hands balling into shaky fists and Emma’s two seconds away from asking her if she’d also seen what she'd seen. “I’m going to change.” She says, nodding to herself as she raises herself off the bed.

Emma lets her go, body still shaky with everything that had been shared, the whispers of those memories clinging to her consciousness and making her unfairly emotional. Regina walks towards the door to her bathroom, pausing briefly as her dark eyes catch Emma's once more, scanning Emma from head to toe.

Emma bites her lower lip, wondering at what Regina sees when her eyes drift from Emma's ruffled blonde curls to Emma's mouth and down towards the ripped tunic hanging to one side where Regina had raised it to trace warm lines against Emma's rib cage. 

Regina tears her gaze away, fingers curling tightly around the doorknob.

"Don’t be here when I get back.” She orders, disappearing into the other room and leaving Emma a flushed quivering mess upon her bed.

* * *

When Emma awakens the next day she's still in Regina's room minus the presence of the aforementioned woman.

Her parents make it a point to shower her in affection which she doesn't nearly protest half as much as she thought she would. It's something's that's calms them and her by extension and she reassures them that she can walk as they take her back to her room.

The rest of the day is uneventful but Regina is a no show until Gold calls them all up to the deck later in the evening when he releases Hook from his magical prison at the steering wheel. He slumps to the floor, weak kneed and the dark one interrogates him, force-feeding him a magical truth serum that makes him tell them that the shadow was attached to him since before he came to Storybrooke. It couldn't bypass the magical barrier that Regina and Gold had made no matter how many times it had tried in order to go back to Pan.

"You fucking parasite." Regina hisses, rage in her eyes and magic in her fists as she glares down at him. "You let them torture me and take my son!"

"You don't understand. Pan stole something very important to me." Hook hisses, eyes wild as Regina grabs hold of his jacket and drags him upright. "This was the only way to get it back."

"By stealing something precious from me." Regina growls, eyes steely. "I'll make you pay for this."

"What exactly did he steal from you?" Snow asks and Hook shakes his head, gritting his teeth as he fights valiantly against the effects of the potion.

"Wendy." Emma says softly, like a revelation. Hook's head swivels in her direction at the mention of the name, meeting her steely eyes from across the deck. "You told me that Wendy helped you escape the island. Pan took her as a prisoner, didn't he?"

Hook deflates with the mention of the girl's name and Regina lets him go. He tells them about his fears of Wendy being dead, of Pan constantly using her as leverage to get him to do his dirty work. He tells them about the pains the shadow inflicts on him if he disobeys, that Pan can kill him at a moment's notice because Hook left the island without his own shadow. It's the price a person pays when they become a lost boy - a binding contract for life unless Pan pardons them.

He tells them about all of the people he's had to bring to the island since he escaped. About still being bound intimately to this place even though time has aged him beyond the boy he escaped as. He talks about the years of misery as he sailed the oceans to different realms with strange magical beans given randomly to him by Pan's minions. He tells them all about the pain of having the other shadow attached to him, that he had to drink himself into a stupor if he wants a good night's rest. The shadow was his link to Pan, it communicated everything between them and now that it was gone, Hook was afraid that the Neverland deity had something worse in store for the group.

"He told me he wanted Wendy's heart." Hook rushes out. "But I pleaded for her life. He said that all I've finally earned Wendy's release, that I just had to do this one last job."

"Henry?" Emma says.

Hook shakes his head. "He wants to make him a lost boy but his kidnapping was just a ruse."

"What does he really want?" Emma asks as Hook looks down.

"He wants the heart of the truest believer, one twisted by darkness."

He talks about meeting Greg and Tamara, a bunch of magic hating folks who Pan sought to use and dispose of. He admits to infiltrating his way into Storybrooke with them in tow. His task was to convince Emma and her family that he was on their side when he was really there to take just one of them back to Neverland with him all along.

"Who were you really here for?" David asks gruffly and Hook shrugs.

"That part remains a mystery even to me." Hook admits as his eyes scan the group. "Pan only said that the person had previously been to Neverland. He didn't bother to reveal the rest to me since you all willingly boarded my vessel in order to save the lad."

"Is he still capable of lying under this spell?" Regina turns to Emma to ask, freezing her in place. It's the only thing she's actually directed at Emma since their...whatever that was last night and Emma stammers on her reply.

"No." She says. "I'm not sensing anything strange."

"Then who among you has been to Neverland?" The dark one asks. "It can't be me, realm travelling has always been highly impossible without the use of magic beans and they are incredibly scarce."

"Don't look at me." Emma lifts her hands. "I only learned about the existence of magic when I broke a damn curse a few weeks ago."

Snow turns to David. "We've only been swept up in one curse which took us to a different land." Snow says, eyes cutting reproachfully to Regina.

Regina folds her arms. "Apart from that wonderful curse and using the mad hatter for a brief moment, I've only ever sent one other person through a mirror to another realm." Everyone's eyes land on her and she shrugs. "It sounded like a good plan at the time."

"This is getting us no where." Emma huffs.

Regina stoops at Hook's side, eyes glinting in the evening light as he meets her gaze. "Listen to me well, pirate." She spits the moniker with derision, burying a hand in his jacket to tug him closer. "I don't care what your reasoning is. If Pan so much as harms one single hair on my son, I will make the rest of your life a living hell."

* * *

With everything out in the open and Hook once again imprisoned to steer the vessel towards the location of the island, things on the ship grow somber as they all reflect on the weeks they've already been sailing to the island.

Snow and David lock themselves in their cabin for the rest of the day, scarring Emma when she walks past it and hears a few questionable moans. She avoids that corridor for the rest of the night and instead seeks out Regina.

But that also proves to be fruitless especially when Emma goes to her cabin to try to talk to her and she locks the door, something she's never bothered to do before in spite of her complaints during their weeks on board the ship.

So they don't talk about it - obviously. It's a moment that Emma even begins to doubt truly happened when the next day comes and Regina goes right back to treating her with the same level of disdain she'd harbored at the start of their voyage. But there's now a heaviness in the air when their magic go seeking out each other without their express permission. It's a connection brimming with life and an intensity that keeps Emma awake at night wondering what Regina's doing more often than not.

During the day Regina isn't any better than Emma with her staring. Emma blames it all on the fact that they haven't practiced magic in a while. Soon between the both of them it becomes obvious that something was going on. 

David tries to inquire about it on behalf of Snow, but Emma shuts him down, somehow fiercely protective over this thing hovering between them that either of them refuse to talk about.

Within a few more days of this annoying limbo, the headaches return. Much to Emma's chagrin. 

She stumbles out of her cabin that night, her magic pulling her in the direction of Regina's just as Regina opens the door. 

They stare blankly at each other, their magics meeting in the space between them and merging like two halves of a whole, sending a flurry of emotions sweeping across Emma's chest. Emotions that are so giant that it sends fear skittering down her spine, even as she wonders if Regina feels it too.

She gets her answer when she's suddenly pinned against the cabin wall, Regina's hands digging roughly into her sides as her heaving chest presses into Emma's.

There's a dark intensity to her eyes, eyes that drift towards Emma's lips with a longing that Emma's own body echoes.

Emma whimpers, the feeling of Regina's skin against her own setting her ablaze as magic surges wildly in her veins. Her hands rise, gently caressing Regina's face and tracing the bow of those achingly soft lips as her mouth finds Regina's, making her giddy when Regina returns the kiss almost immediately.

Regina's hands grasp greedily at her, tugging Emma's tank top aside as her fingers slide across warm smooth skin. The touch burns Emma from the inside out, making her heart ache as it races beyond her control and she tugs Regina wanting her closer, hooking a thigh around her waist. Regina slides in easily and Emma moans at the contact, at the heat that transfers between them as Regina's fevered forehead presses against her own.

“Can we talk about this?” Emma asks breathlessly, voice low in the almost nonexistent space between them.

Regina answers with a kiss of her own, a kiss that makes Emma groan, a sinful sound that vibrates low in her throat as Regina's tongue pushes deep into her mouth.

They kiss with a needy passion that fogs Emma's mind, a passion that devours the rest of her logical reasoning until Regina abruptly pushes her away. She slumps against the wall, knees shaky as Regina turns on her heels and walks back into her cabin, leaving Emma a quivering mess when the brief stirrings of her headaches return.

* * *

Regina doesn't acknowledge her the next day, but they do find time to kiss for hours when Snow and David take their shift on deck to watch Hook. They end up moving him down to his cabin at night, Snow wanting to retain their sense of humanity and not treat him so callously beyond making him suffer the wrath of the Neverland sun when frozen to his steering wheel all day.

Emma and Regina argue for the whole ship to see, another argument that Emma can barely remember the beginnings off as she storms off to follow Regina below deck where one of them shoves the other against a wall (Emma can't remember who) and they end up kissing until Snow comes looking for Emma a few minutes later and they quickly separate.

Regina refuses to continue Emma's magic lessons, stating that she's already taught her a lot and that they need some time apart. That pings on Emma's lie detector like a big red x and Emma refuses to stop asking her about it. Which prompts another argument that ends with them attached at the mouth.

They kiss for long moments at a quiet place on the ship, day or night, pressed intimately against each other until one of them - Regina - pushes the other away.

This becomes routine.

Every single time it happens it hits Emma like a ton of bricks, a severed connection that she doesn't see coming even though a clear pattern has been established.

She loses herself in the highs of it all, kissing Regina becoming as essential as breathing air and their little cat and mouse chase goes on for another week, until Emma gets tired of Regina leaving and formulates a plan of attack.

Her headaches always seem to return right after their kissing, an incredible low point despite the magical high, but she was done with Regina not acknowledging her beyond wanting to kiss her senseless until she got it all out of her system. If Regina was done showing her how to use magic, then Emma was going to do it on her own. On the higher deck. In the dead of night.

Emma walks across the lower deck with purpose, the cool air teasing at her fevered skin as her magic springs easily to her fingers. She breathes out shakily, closing her eyes and summoning it. It spreads out across the ship, easily finding Regina's and tugging at it with an impassioned heat and longing that stirs embers of desire in Emma's chest.

Regina appears on the lower deck ten minutes later, a pained expression on her face that lapses into a growl when she catches sight of her. Emma swallows hard as she approaches, magic crackling at her fists and making Emma's gravitate towards her like a lightning rod.

“It's the middle of the night.” Regina's voice floats across to her from the lower deck. She pauses at the base of the steps where Emma can get a better view. The moonlight shines upon them, dancing against Regina's skin and making her glow in its enchanting light. She wore that same silky robe Emma had caught her with a couple of times at this time of night. It gave her an effortlessly sexy look or maybe that was the sway in her shapely hips as she climbed the stairs, not breaking eye contact with Emma. It makes Emma feel like she's the one being hunted instead as Regina approaches with an intensity that makes her shiver, the blanket draped over her shoulders not enough to save her.

"Why am I here?" Regina calls up at Emma.

"Because I wanted you here." Emma admits easily, voice controlled. "But you also wanted to come."

Regina doesn't correct her and Emma's confidence grows a little as she tosses the blanket onto the floor, leaving her in her thin tank top and jeans. Regina's eyes appraise her and it's something that Emma feels like a physical caress they way they move from her chest, across her hips and down to her legs.

She tucks her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans, a nervous habit, as she stands her ground, watching intently as Regina climbs towards her.

When Regina gets within range something extra strange happens - her magic and Emma's connects midway across the steps and that tugging deep in Emma's gut intensifies, a longing so powerful her limbs tremble with her restraint as she tries to prevent herself from going towards Regina.

A beat of silence passes between them. One where they're achingly aware of the other's presence. Their magics meet across the air again, pulling them together like pieces of a puzzle but they both resist, stubbornness potent in their veins.

It lasts for a few seconds where the wind rises and washes over them and Emma grabs Regina's hand when she reaches the final step, interlacing their fingers.

The minute they make contact, Regina lunges at her, a wave of wild energy flowing through their connection that makes Emma's breath catch as Regina's lips find her skin. Regina's teeth sink into the sensitive skin of Emma's neck and Emma cries out sharply, the pain overwhelming the pleasure thundering between her thighs. She grits her teeth, fingers clenching in Regina's hair and drawing her head sharply backwards.

Regina's eyes meet hers, an abyss of dark as her dilated pupils give away her true emotions and Emma trembles, chest heaving as Regina's body presses so intimately against her.

“R-Regina.” She whispers swallowing thickly around her heaving breaths. Regina's breaths meet her lips in a heated sigh as she drifts in close, dark eyes following the delicate movements of the lines of Emma's throat making her feverish skin _ burn_.

“Fuck.” Emma hisses and Regina's fingers dig in at her sides, the thin tank top between them practically nonexistent. “You're hella rough, you know that?” Emma whispers as Regina's dazed eyes meet hers. There's an alluring tug between them, and Emma can't hope to resist it as Regina dives in for more, all sharp teeth and intense kisses that make Emma quiver against her.

Regina's hands fist in Emma's tank top and she pulls her into another needy kiss as Emma's hands drift across her back and into her hair, anchoring their mouths. They kiss for long moments that makes that magic surges restlessly and Emma's body hums with it, with warmth and desire. 

“Mmm.” Emma groans, turned on beyond words, even as a part of her brain fights for her attention, urging her to calm Regina's frenetic energy. “Gentle.” Emma sighs. “Be more gentle..._ please. _”

Magic hums at Emma's fingertips, and almost instantly Emma can feel a calmness transferring across their shared connection, dissolving Regina's frantic energy as their lips part languidly against each other. Regina's body trembles against her own, mouth covering Emma's as her hands slacken in her tank top. Her tongue sweeps in to claim Emma's mouth beneath her own, melting her like an ice cream in hot summer air.

Emma's hand disentangles from Regina's hair, sliding down the back of her neck as her thumb sweeps across the smooth soft skin of Regina's jaw. Regina sighs, seemingly coming out of a haze as her hands fall limply onto Emma's shoulders. Emma frowns, lips disconnecting from Regina's as her fevered forehead falls to her neck.

She squeezes her eyes shut, that insistent thudding between her thighs an unforgiving distraction as she tries to get back to the situation at hand.

“Our magic has never reacted like this before.” She says breathlessly, fingers delicately descending Regina's lower back. They move carefully over the ridges of her spine across the silky material of her bathrobe before settling loosely around Regina's waist.

“Haven't they?” Regina asks around a breathless exhale of her own.

Emma raises her head to meet Regina's. "I...I don't know."

“They connected back in the mines.” Regina admits, tilting her head to press a gentle kiss against Emma's jaw.

The gentleness of the action makes Emma's entire face warm and she smiles, dizzy with longing. She recalls the sensations that had stirred low in her gut, the sensations of phantom lines of magic tracing her skin that kept her eyes focused on Regina. 

“So you felt that too.”

Regina's body tenses beneath Emma's, the only telling factor that she'd responded.

Emma has so many questions. What were they doing? Would it continue when they got back to Storybrooke? Did Regina want it to continue?

A noise across the lower deck makes them separate immediately as David comes stumbling out on deck with his fishing rod. Emma blinks distractedly as Regina turns on her heels, disappearing in a swirl of magic that tells Emma she's already back in her room.

David sees Emma a second later, calling out to her and asking why she was up at the crack of dawn. Emma blinks the confusion away, casting her gaze towards the horizon where the first rays of the morning sun were now beginning to split the Neverland skies. Had so many hours flown by? She felt like she'd just started kissing Regina a few minutes ago.

Emma makes up some excuse about not being able to sleep well and David smiles and asks her to stay with him for a bit while he fishes.

* * *

Snow joins them a few hours later when the sun was higher in the sky. She brings them breakfast, seaweed sandwiches with slices of fish that they'd gotten used to over the weeks. Emma grimaces but takes it, planning on asking Regina to summon her a grilled cheese after just to wash the taste away with something better. Snow freezes when she leans in to give Emma her sandwich, eyes glued to Emma's neck.

Her green eyes grow serious as they trap Emma's in this calculating look that immediately puts her on edge. Emma tugs on the sword at her side while David casts another line out, just to give herself something to do as she admires its cool rust free surface. But her mother’s just staring at a spot just below her jawline and she panics thinking that Regina’s left a mark.

Regina makes her way onto the deck then and their eyes lock from a few feet away. Were things any different between them now?

Emma gets her answer when Regina just waltz past without a word on her way towards the upper deck and her expression falls. Snow's still observing her and Emma grimaces at herself. She probably just painted an entire picture from Snow who was now eyeing the spot at Emma's neck with a dark look and then glaring in Regina's direction.

Emma forces herself not to outwardly panic because Regina would magically heal any bruises right, _ right_??? They were both too out of it last night to even think straight so Emma can imagine what her neck must look like.

"Emma what happened to your neck?" David's the one to finally ask and Emma wonders if this was the first time he was truly seeing it since they'd been sitting there.

Emma shrugs and stands. "A big fucking spider thing attacked me."

Regina snorts from the deck above and Snow's look turns murderous as Emma dismisses herself to her room intent on figuring out how to use her magic to heal herself because if Snow gives her another of those _ judgey motherly _ looks she’s going to lose it. 

* * *

Regina ignores her presence on the ship again the next day, even going so far as to talk to Gold instead of her as they both kept an eye on Hook. It was infuriating and Emma was unwilling to ask for her help with another of her headaches. She's able to withstand the lancing pains in her overheated body for almost another day before she caves and stumbles into Regina’s cabin in the dead of night.

The lights are off in the cabin again, the moon slanting through the porthole window casting an eerie glow upon the mostly empty room. Emma closes the door behind her with a soft click, eyes quickly adjusting to the dimness of the room.

“Regina.” Emma calls, wanting to alert the other woman to her presence. There's no response from the motionless lump on the bed and Emma huffs, calling her again with urgency. It doesn't work so she ambles on over, slowly maneuvering so that she doesn't stumble into anything in the dark.

Emma overestimates just how much strength she has left as she falls limply onto the bed, an arm trapping the body wrapped tightly in a blanket beneath her. She winces, holding still for Regina's inevitable angry reaction - which doesn't come.

She pushes up on an elbow, almost swaying with the momentum as she shakes Regina once more. There’s a soft sniffle but no reaction beyond that and her brows furrow. Something was clearly wrong.

She doesn't think too much about it before she throws a leg on one side of Regina, sinking down onto her elbows and knees as she leans over the prone woman. Regina seems to almost shrink even more into herself and Emma notices that she’s clutching for dear life at one of Henry’s old jackets. It was smaller, smaller than the one he always wore, worn and torn at the seams. But that had to mean that it was older.

“Hey…” Emma says softly, sympathetically, not analyzing her actions when she dares to thumb away the lone tear slipping down Regina’s feverish cheek. The contact makes Regina shift beneath her, eyes fluttering open to reveal a mixture of grief and pain. It was haunting the way those emotions tainted those dark eyes and the palpable sadness within them quakes within Emma, hitting her squarely in the chest. It’s an ache Emma Swan knows well, one that had no bounds and resonated so deeply she thought she’d lose herself to it - a mother’s heartache for her son.

“I...” She starts, rethinking whether she should have come in the first place. What the hell was she even doing, bothering Regina in the dead of night? She had no business coming into her room like this, let alone hovering over her like some creep. Emma's face flushes and the migraine returns with full force, pounding incessantly between her eyes. Her entire body tenses with the pain and Emma pinches the bridge of her nose, a resigned sigh escaping her lips. “S-Sorry...I’ll leave.” She grits out, carefully shifting her weight to dismount the bed.

As Emma moves, warm palms press against her thighs, keeping her firmly in place. Green eyes lock with dark ones, an unreadable emotion passing between them as they stare at each other from the small space between their prone bodies. Emma swallows hard, throat suddenly parched as that pull deep in her gut intensifies. Her body tingles and Regina’s hands move, smoothly gliding up her bare thighs to meet the fabric of the thin boy shorts she’d slipped into earlier and her breathing snags in her throat. Emma’s heart starts up again, that rhythmic thumping changing to a sporadic beat that threatens to leave her chest. Could Regina hear it? 

Regina’s hands settle upon Emma’s waist, eye contact never wavering as they both seemingly assess the other. Those warm hands shift, carefully moving from Emma’s hips following the delicate curve of her spine as they slide along her thin tank top. Emma stops breathing for a second, letting out a shaky breath when both settle at the nape of her neck. Almost instantly, there’s relief from the pain tearing at her body. Pure, sweet, untainted relief that ripples out from Regina’s soothing touch and deeply comforts Emma. 

She reaches up again, thumbs gently grazing the sides of Emma’s face before those hands tangle in her wild mane of blonde curls. Emma’s eyes flutter as Regina’s magic soothes hers, sending waves of calming energy surging through her body and immediately dissolving her migraine. She moans, instantly mortified at the sound as she blatantly voices her approval. Regina’s fingers expertly drag against her skull, the expression on her face unreadable.

Was she doing this just to be nice? No. She'd said she wouldn't help Emma again but yet here she was, doing the very thing that she'd sworn against. The intensity of her eyes, like the calm before a raging storm and that pull towards her so visceral that Emma ignores her warring instincts and immediately descends, pressing their bodies together and tucking her face against Regina’s neck.

Regina squeaks, a tiny surprising sound that makes Emma want to ruin the moment by teasing her. Instead, she resists, allowing the moment to pass in comfortable silence as Regina's breath softly tingles across her forehead. The soothing rush of magic doesn’t fade, it intensifies, rippling across her skin in waves and Emma moans again, body humming with the power of it rushing through her every pore. This time there was no mistaking the difference in it. It feels way too intimate, like Emma was having a glimpse into the secret of Regina. This rare softer side that she wants to touch and kiss. No sooner had she thought that had an image flashed within her mind, an image of Regina and Henry, a three week old Henry to be precise.

Emma's breathing labors as her eyes flutter shut and she watches a version of Regina, laying on her bed in Storybrooke as she tries to comfort a crying Henry. Baby Henry's tiny fists ball together as he lets out a series of tiny shrieks and the panic and uncertainty that flickers through Regina is palpable as she tries her best to soothe him. Tears spring to Regina's yes as she nuzzles against his tiny form and Emma's eyes burn at the pitiful image they make.

_ “Am I truly no good at this?” _ Regina's question to the baby echoes in Emma's ear. _ “Please, Henry. Stop crying.” _

Henry's cries continue nonetheless, joined by Regina's soft sobs. Emma reaches out to them but the image blurs then flickers back to life like a static television. The room is darker now, indicating the passing of several hours and Regina sighs heavily, softly stroking the baby's reddened cheek. The softest notes of a tearful lullaby spring to Emma's ears. Within moments, the soothing sounds of the Spanish lullaby has soothed Henry's cries, the rich notes of the foreign language tingling in the air. The baby stares up at Regina, a mixture of utter baby delight and wonder on his face and Regina breaks into a teary smile of her own as she presses a kiss to his flushed cheek.

_ “I can't believe how much I love you already…” _ she murmurs softly, eyes crinkling as Henry coos. _ “My little prince.” _

Regina’s hands continue their careful stroking, soothing Emma’s racing heart as Emma's eyes spring open. 

_ What the hell was that? _ She wonders. Did Regina see it too? Was that something she'd experienced? And if so, why could Emma see it? Emma frowns, eyes glued to Regina's for any indication that she'd seen the images too. But she doesn't stop her movements.

_You're such a good mother to Henry_, Emma wants to say. _The kid is so lucky to have someone who cares about him like you do_.

The magic within Regina's hands calms Emma and simultaneously lights her skin on fire. It was such an unbelievably new feeling, stirring a fierce protectiveness in Emma for the Henry and Regina she'd witnessed. And Emma doesn't want it to stop. Her thoughts are in a flurry, desperately trying to categorize this interaction. She was a _ go with the flow _ type of gal, but not when it came to Regina. Regina acted and reacted in an unpredictable manner and when Emma couldn’t get a proper read on her it sent her absolutely insane, obsessing over what she could possibly be thinking.

It’s no different now. Emma finds the strength to rise up on an elbow, inches away from Regina’s face. Regina’s eyes meet hers and there’s that pull towards her again, so alluring that ignoring it doesn’t even seem like a viable option. Regina’s hands still in her hair and for the first time Emma notices her flushed cheeks and the way that both their laboured breathing echoes in the silent cabin. Perspiration beads on Emma’s forehead as that magic in her veins flare, brightening her skin and shaking her to the core.

Anticipation builds deep in Emma's gut as Regina rises up on an elbow, messy dark hair framing her face and moonlight dancing upon her olive skin. She stops inches away from Emma's face and the covers fall away from her chest, revealing a simple white negligee that leaves very little to the imagination. Emma swallows hard, involuntarily recalling just how tightly they'd been pressed together just days ago. Regina's staring at her, that unabashed staring that makes it increasingly hard to form coherent thought.

Emma's mind whirs as Regina's dark eyes glitter like stardust. Those messy confusing emotions in Emma's chest stir her traitorous hands to move to Regina's sides, tangling in the negligee and bunching it up. Regina's eyes widen, blazing a pathway across Emma's face and Emma follows the dried tear tracks on Regina's skin down to her lips. Their noses brush, feverish skin skimming against feverish skin and Emma doesn't know who initiates the kiss first. She melts instantly against Regina’s lips, against her skillful tongue when Regina surges up against her mouth, laying claim to her in such an intimate manner.

Emma’s warm kisses don’t stop as she practically devours the heated skin of Regina’s neck, making her pulse jump maddeningly beneath her skin. Regina’s far too gone to tell her off for marking her when sharp teeth assaults smooth skin and a warm tongue assuages the stinging a second later. Emma’s white magic rises in response and together they snake and slip around them both creating a new source of light in the room.

Her heart races, echoing Regina’s as their breathy sighs fill the cabin. She bunches up the negligee above Regina's hips, pressing ardent kisses that left the skin at Regina's neck blooming red beneath pink fervent lips. Regina's moans increase and Emma's too far gone to care if anyone hears them. Her lips work feverishly as she buries three fingers knuckle deep into warm wet flesh, pulling another guttural moan from Regina’s throat. Emma smirks as Regina’s tight control slips and Regina retaliates by tugging roughly against blonde hair making Emma whimper.

Emma's lips disconnect and she admires her handiwork as Regina bit her lower lip, back arching as Emma’s skilled fingers sunk into her. Regina is so impossibly tight around her and Emma delights in the warmth that makes her want so much more of Regina. She presses her fevered forehead to Regina's chest, breathing ragged as she closes her eyes loving how Regina's hips move so fluidly against her hand.

“Mmm, _Emma_.” Regina moans and Emma’s eyes spring open, surprise at hearing her name falling from the former Mayor’s lips and not some derisive title. Regina seems to register her slip up too and sinks white teeth against her own lips, determined to keep her sounds of pleasure under wraps.

Emma has other ideas though, liking the sound of her name way too much. She increases the pressure of her fingers, making Regina's hips rise to meet her. Emma’s eyes flutter shut and she’s quite unconscious of the magical pulses of light that almost trip Regina over the edge of pleasure she’s teetering on when she pulls her fingers out and buries them into the woman again.

It’s a bit too much and all too suddenly Regina’s arching against her, eyes burning a dark alluring purple as she comes hard against Emma, the syllables of Emma's name a prayer on her lips. Emma's heart flutters at the emotions that crash over them. She loves the way Regina arches against her, loves the way their magic ebbs and flows and sears like hot lava across her skin.

There’s a breathy moan from Regina as pale hands squeeze and thumbs drag across her still clothed nipples that strain against it. Emma’s almost shaking with the magical tendrils that wrap around her upper body and she pushes herself against Regina’s skin that feels feverish with want. Regina pushes back, hands fisting in blonde hair to claim Emma’s lips.

Purple tendrils of magic seep from the tips of fingers buried in blonde curls and spiral along the curve of Emma’s neck. Emma sucks in a sharp breath then as the sensation slivers through her, almost pouring through her veins and almost painfully stiffening her nipples. 

“Mmm, Madame Mayor.” Emma hums.

“Shut up.” Regina growls against Emma’s mouth, covering them with her own a second later in a kiss that’s rough and demanding.

“Bossy.” Emma laughs, the sound breaking their lips apart and Regina’s fingers roughly tweak those fine pointed nipples in reprimand, earning her a delicate squeak.

Her lips drag across the pale heated skin of Emma’s cheek, admiring the delicate rosy hue as green eyes flutter shut.

Wanting to feel more of Regina, Emma sits up, thighs bracketing the woman below as her shaky fingers move towards the strange buttons holding together the old white tunic she was wearing. Regina simply watches her beneath the rise of dark lashes and Emma's skin burns when she tosses the tunic somewhere in the room revealing her bare chest. Regina's hands are on her in an instant, the magic in them amplifying the feeling as they cup Emma's chest. Emma shivers, back arching as her hips grind down against Regina. Magic scatters across her skin like fireworks as Regina rises up to pulls her into a kiss, and then another that makes Emma even weaker in the knees.

She breaks the kiss then, bowing her head to stroke a hot tongue against the peak of Emma’s nipples, rolling the other stiffened peak with her fingers. Gentle teeth nip against sensitive flesh and Emma’s moan has white hot arousal pooling between her own thighs. Regina's tongue strokes her, caresses her as Emma clenches pale fingers in her hair and a soft whimper escapes her lips, urging her to continue. Their combined magic is almost like a fevered liquid, equally intense and light at the same time. It vibrates against their skin, caressing them with a smoldering warmth that has Regina pushing her down onto the mattress and slipping easily between her thighs. Emma's knees rise along side her and Regina turns her head, pressing delicate kisses to each. Emma bites her lower lip, sex burning as Regina takes her time, slipping ever closer.

Never breaking eye contact with Emma, Regina’s hands slip beneath her knees, easily parting them. The scent of Emma’s arousal fills the air and she’d have more time to be self conscious if her brain was capable of rational thought. Regina leans forward and presses her face between Emma’s legs. Hooded eyes appraise her wantonly and the hand in Regina's hair clenches. Her mouth against Emma is hungry, insistent as her tongue laves attention against her sex. Emma moans, pleasure rippling out from her like waves towards a shore. She bites her lower lip, hips rocking against Regina’s mouth as she loses herself in sensations, in tastes and touches and pleasures of the soul.

Regina’s skin is cool against Emma's, calm like the surface of the moon. It’s almost like a revelation to Emma with the way it glows too, a soft muted white filling the air with enchantment. Her lips brush soothingly against Emma’s skin which burns in comparison, like a radiant star going _supernova_, casting light against every crevice in the room.

* * *

It's a while later when Emma awakens, a mess of blonde curls and toasty limbs in the small cabin. She frowns, yawning widely as she adjusts to the semi darkness of the room. The back of her neck _ tingles _ and her eyes slip shut again, lips curving into a tiny blissful smile at that lingering feeling of euphoria. Something next to her moves, and a firm butt fits snugly between her naked thighs as a warm back molds to Emma's front. Emma's very _ nude _front. That cuts right through her blissful unawareness as her eyes spring open, nervous energy rippling through her as she raises up on an elbow. She makes out the nude silhouette of a person and the memories of the last few hours come flooding back to her in a mess of breathy sighs and wanton moans.

Emma tenses, face coloring when half of Regina’s face, hidden beneath dark curls, is revealed by the dancing beams of moonlight. She inhales a sharp breath not daring to move as those long airy lashes move and Regina’s eyes flutter open. Emma feels the exact moment Regina’s body tenses against hers. She moves, twisting onto her side to meet Emma’s eyes, its as if time itself has frozen between them.

Regina’s fists curl tightly in the thin bed sheet separating their bodies as they both stare at each other, clearly at a loss for words. _ What is she thinking _ ? Emma wonders, the thoughts coming in rapid speed to her racing mind. There’s no way either of them could misinterpret what had happened. Neither had the excuse of some type of mental inhibition...unless they counted their _ magic_. Regina’s practically unreadable, but her gaze is probing, dark eyes searching Emma’s. The air is electric between them, magic still humming beneath her skin and Emma inhales sharply, unable to put her spiraling thoughts into words. _ Were we drunk on magic? Was that even possible? Or did we both want this to happen?_

“Regina I-” She starts, not knowing where the sentence would lead her but looking for a way to dissolve this suffocating tension. Regina abruptly sits up and Emma’s words die in her throat as the bed sheets slip down Regina’s chest to pool at her waist revealing a host of purpling marks. Emma’s face reddens as her eyes drift to each one, recalling the way she’d thoroughly worshiped Regina’s body. She sucks in a shallow breath, hastily slapping a palm across her face to effectively hide her wandering gaze.

“What the _ hell _ are you _ doing _?!” Emma splutters, tossing the remainder of the bed sheets over Regina. She bashfully peaks through her fingers and gives a mortified squeak when she realizes that in her attempt to hide Regina’s modesty, she’s revealed her similarly naked body.

Before they can address the obvious, the ship lurches, nearly capsizing with the force that bashes against it. Emma’s sent tumbling across Regina’s lap, trapping her beneath her as the waves slosh noisily against the side of the ship. The water outside burbles and foams, spraying messily through the open porthole and onto the floor. Emma scrambles to her knees, wincing as the desks and chairs scrape noisily across the room. 

“What the hell is going on?” She voices her concerns just as the ship lurches again, sending both women toppling in a mess of limbs and bed sheets to the cabin floor.

“Oof, _ Emma_.” Regina groans, voice husky from disuse as Emma’s thigh lands directly between her own. Emma’s face burns, inches away from Regina’s annoyed face as the ship rocks again. It's followed by several loud shrieks and instantly they're both scrambling to their shaky feet and grabbing whatever bit of clothing they can find.

“Emma!” Mary Margaret’s voice echoes loudly in the corridor and the cabin door next to Regina's busts open, no doubt revealing the empty room to a distraught Snow. “David she isn't here!” She shrieks and Emma’s trembling hands fight to button the last of the buttons on the shirt she’d discarded earlier. Regina dresses quickly, summoning the rest of her clothes with magic as Emma finishes tugging on her underwear.

“Oh for Gods’ sake.” Regina growls and yanks the cabin door open, unfazed by Emma's incoherent stuttering as she limps into the last leg of her jeans. Regina pulls her through the cabin door with a sharp tug and soon they're both ambling down the corridor, making their way hand in hand towards the lower deck.

There above them, the air has descended to practically freezing levels as a darkness swirls over them, releasing dark blobs of disgusting shadowy faced creatures. The creatures come shrieking down towards the ship, flying clean through it and hitting like missiles at their intended targets. The ship lurches from side to side, nearly capsizing with the force of the attacks as a wave higher than a skyscraper races towards them in the distance.

“He obviously can't keep it up for long.” Hook grits out, still magically glued to the steering. “He's getting desperate with these scare tactics."

"But why now?" Emma grits out as Regina's magic calls out towards her, desperately directing her on how to help her fortify the barrier around the ship as the dark one comes out to help them.

"I suppose that's why." Hook points into the distance as Snow and David finally make it back to the deck and straight into Emma's arms.

There, beyond the giant foaming waves in the distance the dark coast of an island is visible, a craggy inlet with an empty beach.

Emma's eyes widen, just as another monster wave smacks into the ship. It busts through their magical defenses like it wasn't even there, dragging them all beneath the stinging waves of the ice cold water. Magic springs forth from Emma's hands, magic that tingles at the base of her spine and rushes down her legs. It links with the familiar strings of Regina's and Emma's consciousness fades as her blurry eyes behold the motionless bodies of her family suspended beneath the dark choking waters of the Neverland sea.


	5. Island

_Tied up and restrained to a corner of the camp was not exactly what Henry Mills had imagined would happen when Greg and Tamara said they were taking him to Pan. They'd practically abandoned him the second a group of boys dressed in dingy clothes had found them and took him off of their hands._

_He had been force fed some sickeningly sugary, gooey substance that he was appalled tasted quite delicious but he put up a fight nonetheless, being a pain on principle till they gave up and threw the bowl harshly at his feet._

_“Just because we need you alive doesn’t mean you’re that special, boy.” One of the younger boys had bit out testily and grabbed a staff that the young Mills was sure was going to grace his face. The shot never came though as the boy just glared daggers at him and turned on his heel._

_At his show of being stubborn, the rest of the group had dragged him over to the tree and bounded his hands behind his back, leaving just one of the boys in charge._

_He scowls petulantly up at his captor – a tall lanky boy with a jagged scar that tore across the swell of his cheek and dipped obscenely into his lower lip. Henry grimaces when the boy smiles, stretching the obviously new scar in a way that had to be painful._

_“Looking at my scar, are you?” He inquires, a proud gleam in his dark eyes. “Got this facing Rufus over there,” He points at the boy lazily slumped over a tree trunk on the opposite side of the camp, whittling a spear with an air of practiced ease that looked quite deadly. Henry gulps, squaring his shoulders as he eyes the boy._

_“I’m not scared of you.” He spits, derision colouring his tone. “You’re just a scared little boy.” _

_The boy just smiles that unsettling smile that made Henry’s stomach churn and threaten to bring up that sweet concoction they’d made him drink earlier. In two seconds flat there was a blade pressed tightly against his throat. Henry inhales sharply, taken aback by the unnatural agile grace the boy had moved with. His eyes gleam, dark and menacing, a shade made ominous surrounded by the darkness encroaching upon the surrounding forest._

_“You’d do well to learn your place.” He hisses and a fresh bout of fear slides up Henry’s spine tightening his throat as the sharp point of the metal punctures his skin. _

_“Mason.” A gruff voice calls from over the boy’s shoulder and Henry tenses as the blunt point of the knife was pressed further against his windpipe. “Pan will not be pleased.”_

_“He was testing me!” Mason grits out, eyes fixated on Henry’s trembling form. “He thinks I’m _weak_, scared like he is.”_

_“Pan’s having us lead the intruders on a wild goose chase.” _

_A chorus of animalistic hoots and hollers go up at this and Henry’s heart beats profusely against his rib cage as he registers the danger he’s in. Within minutes they're force feeding him the rest of the sugary concoction and Henry thrashes wildly, spilling the rest of it onto the forest floor as the world around him darken and his body falls limply against the tree._

* * *

The image of Henry's unconscious body stretches and curls in Emma's foggy mind as she chokes up water, brought back to consciousness as the blurry lines of Hook's somber face comes steadily into focus.

Her throat burns and her heart races as she greedily sucks in a breath of cool sea air. Regina stands, towering over her as she shucks off her drenched blazer, wringing the excess water from it and Emma breathes just a bit easier knowing that she was also there.

“You..” she trails off, finally addressing the pirate hovering over her and Hook smirks.

"Did you enjoy the taste of my luscious life giving lips, Luv?" He teases and Emma grimaces on reflex, scrubbing at her lips with the back of her hand. Hook chuckles mirthfully and Regina stubs a booted foot in his side making him wince. "Much as I'd like to take credit for your precarious rescue, I'm remiss to say that the praise belongs to the Queen." He shrugs easily. "Though the imagery really didn't spur any protests from me." 

“You're disgusting.” Emma heaves out and Hook shrugs, finally standing.

  
"Welcome back." Regina's gravelly voice announces and Emma groans, taking stock of her heavy limbs as she lays like a starfish sprawled across the white sand. The waves in the distance slosh noisily against the shoreline and the moonlight casts the island in deep shadows. 

She shakes her head, the vision of her son slumping unconscious surrounded by those boys etched deeply into her mind's eye. Was it a trick of the island? It felt so real...

Emma grits her teeth, pain radiating up her side as she presses a hand across her ribs. She breathes in steadily, trying hard not to jolt her injured side as her body trembles. There was sand all over her body, clinging to places where sand ought not to cling and Emma groans again, recalling the furious waves that had battered and sent her deep beneath the dark waters. She gazes at the dark night sky above where the stars seemingly twinkle back as they too come into focus and she heaves out a heavy breath, throat raw from coughing.

  
  
"We're alive." She states uncertainly, pressing a hand to her abnormally tingling lips. She pauses, the magic surging beneath her skin springing to life when Regina's eyes meet hers. 

Regina raises an eyebrow. "You're welcome." Before Emma can continue with that line of questioning, Regina continues. "We need to take cover before we're discovered here."

With Hook's help, Emma rises up on shaky limbs, wincing on reflex when she jolts her side. Gritting her teeth, she tries to ignore the intensity of the pain, eyes scanning the silent ocean before them and the miles of sand that stretches in either direction.

"Let's go." Hook announces. "We can't stay here too long."

“B-But David.” Emma's eyes widen, once again scanning the shoreline. “Mary Margaret!”

Regina stills for a second, body casting a lengthy shadow across the pale sand. Her head rises skywards as she closes her eyes and Emma's magic rises against her skin as purple magic floods Regina's palms. Seconds later Regina gasps, falling to one knee and Emma scrambles after her, grabbing hold of her shoulders.

“What's wrong?” She asks shakily, hating how Regina's breath rattles when she takes a deep breath.

“My magic.” Regina hisses, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Is something wrong with it?"

“Can you feel how different magic is on this island? For once the pirate was right." Regina frowns, desperately trying to summon it to her hands. It rises then falls just as sharply. "It's like a dampening effect on my magic. Something has been pinning it down since we got dragged to shore by those waves. I can barely feel it unless," her eyes meet Emma's and Emma's magic surges, warmth rushing against her skin and flooding her cheeks. Regina's mouth twists. "Did you feel that?"

  
  
Emma nods shakily. "H-How?"

  
  
Regina shakes her head. "I...don't know."

There's a charged moment of silence between them, a moment where that magic in Emma's body makes contact with Regina's. It rushes out of Emma like a wave and she sucks in a breath, now familiar with the way Regina directs her magic. A second later Regina's rising to her feet as Emma removes her hands from her shoulders. Their eyes meet, a world of questions and emotions hovering between and Emma's heart flutters. 

“Your parents are fine.” Regina says after a moment, dark eyes finally leaving Emma's to probe along the dense forest lining the coast. "They're alive and should be through these next gap of trees."

Emma blinks, eyeing her warily. “Are you s-”

“Yes.” Regina cuts her off sharply. “Now let's move before something or _someone_ discovers us.” She insists, reaching for Emma's hand and tugging her forward.

"Ow.” Emma winces, teeth sinking into her lower lip as the pain blooms fiercely at her side. She clutches at it, tears welling in her eyes as Regina's concerned ones meet hers.

Regina's lifting her tunic before Emma can protest, revealing an angry purpling bruise spread along the side of her rib cage. Emma's face warms, eyes darting to Hook as Regina probes at it, making Emma wince and protest as he clears his throat and looks away.

"You broke a damn rib and thought that you could hide it?" Regina's voice flares with anger and Emma's temper flares too but before she can answer, Regina presses a warm hand to her injured rib and Emma cries out sharply, squeezing her eyes shut.

The magic within her surges and her body sways as Regina's arm curves around her waist for support. Her head falls forward, weak, and Regina's body stiffens as Emma presses heavily against her, head cradled against her collarbone. A few seconds float by like this as their magic tangles together, healing the bone and bringing the flesh back to its normal colour before Emma's able to slightly tilt her head to observe Regina. Her eyes are closed, her hand still pressed to Emma's warm flesh, warming her from the inside but her face looks an unhealthy level of pale in the moonlight. Emma frowns, lifting her head so she can get a better look and she catches sight of a rough cut sliced from her nose high across Regina's cheek and towards her ear.

She doesn't know what she's doing until her quivering hand is making contact with Regina’s injured face and redirecting the healing flow of the magic she can feel moving between their bodies. Regina’s dark eyes spring open, surprise and curiosity within their depths. It emboldens Emma and she leans forward, connecting their foreheads, expelling a shaky breath that passes from her lips to Regina's as their magic rises against her skin, mending Regina's torn flesh and bringing back that healthy glow to her dark eyes that Emma's so fond of.

Regina doesn't move away from the touch, instead, her hand moves higher along Emma's back, the healing sensations tickling Emma's spine and fogging Emma's brain while simultaneously returning a bout of strength to her shaky legs. Another beat passes between them, a moment where Emma's heart races with a fierce longing that echoes with a scary depth in her magic. She pulls away with a sharp jerk and Regina blinks twice like coming out of a daze as she untangles her arm from around Emma and turns away.

Hook clears his throat, arms folded as he keeps his eyes trained on the cover of forest before them. "Now then, shall we move on?"

The moment clearly broken, Emma's finally able to think with some clarity as the pirate captain presents her with a scabbard containing David's sword.

"Washed up on shore when I found the two of you passed out." He explains gruffly. "Thought you might put it to good use." Emma takes it from him, eyes narrowing as she scan's him from head to toe, searching for injuries.

"How are you alive?" She asks, remembering how he'd been imprisoned at the steering wheel by the dark one.

Hook shrugs, clutching the trinket around his neck. "Protection." He says gruffly. "Looks like this little star piece is still protecting me after all."

"The better question is _why_ are you still here?" Regina interjects, steely eyes focused on Hook with clear distrust.

"Believe it or not, Swan. I've grown fond of _you_." Hook shrugs, folding his arms as he addresses Emma instead. "I want to help you get your son back."

"I wouldn't trust you even if our lives depended on it." Emma says angrily. "You lied to us!"

"I never lied to you." He says sternly, shaking his head. "Everything I've told you before was the truth. I simply withheld some information."

"But you're working for Pan!"

"You freed me from the shadow and in turn from his clutches." Hook answers, bowing meekly. "It was the greatest source of my misery for years and now I am in your debts."

"_You_ want to help us?" Regina chuckles disbelievingly as he rises up to his full height once more. "Then do us a favor and go drown yourself."

Hook rolls his eyes, pointing at the trees in the distance. "I can be a great asset to you! I know this island! I know how the boys think! I know -"

"That doesn't _matter_, you said that Pan can kill you because he has your shadow trapped on this island. We can't trust you not to turn on us if he -"

"Well technically yes but I'd already be in his clutches again if I didn't have this." Hook shrugs, holding up the star piece dangling from his neck.

"How is that thing able to protect you from him?" Regina asks curiously.

"It's called an emblem." He informs them. "Its power comes from the tree of life once protected by a great fairy coven. Pan fears it. It contains one third of an ancient form of belief magic used to power the entire island."

"Couldn't Pan simply use his shadow to get that emblem from you?"

"He'd stuck that shadow to me the moment he'd brought me to Neverland. He knew what he intended to use me for from the beginning. When we all tried to leave the island and he realized that I had one of the three emblems he was furious, but the shadow prevented me from using it to harm him in any way."

A gust of wind ripples along the shoreline as the waves crash against it. Emma scrubs a weary hand across her face, letting Hook's story sink in. It's true that her built in lie detector never pinged when she talked to him and it was still silent now as he told them another part of his story. The Neverland sea spreads out before them, daunting in the darkness of the moon and they all set their eyes on the forest.

"Please." Hook swallows hard, dark eyes slipping shut. "All I want is to find out the truth about what happened to Wendy. And in doing so I vow to help you find your son."

"Okay." Emma says after a loaded moment. "But you so much as breathe in the wrong direction and Regina and I are coming after you."

"On my honor, I shall be on my best behavior." He says meekly and Emma nods. Reassured, they start off towards the forest. "Shadows lurk in the dark." Hook explains. "I'm sure he already knows that you're both on the beach."

"What about you?" Emma asks and Hook holds up his emblem. Right, _protection_ or whatever.

"Also, no shadow, no detection."

"So how on earth are we supposed to attempt this rescue without him setting his minions on us?" Regina asks irritably.

"Swan still has trouble with her magic regardless of the effect Neverland has on it, but together I think the both of you should be able to cover yourselves so that we can all get through this forest in one piece." Hook insists and Regina's eyes narrow. They did just detect Emma's parents _and_ heal each other. Emma's eyes meet Regina's and that magic beneath her skin pulses with warm waves that soothe her skin. Maybe this could really work...

"Stick close to me." Regina informs and Emma nods, grabbing hold of the sword with one hand and Regina's with the other. Regina's eyes meet hers and Emma shrugs, not about to let go. Magic rises against their palms, tingling as it rushes down to Emma's feet, cloaking them both. Hook nods and they finally slip into the break in the tree line with Hook trailing closely behind.

The moon shines down upon them through the slight gaps in the trees as they trudge through the forest, sticking closer towards the edge of it like Hook instructs. Regina walks on ahead and they carve a path through the trees, wandering forward. They walk for what feels like hours to Emma but with one hand cradled tightly in Regina's and the other on the hilt of her father's sword, she has never felt safer.

Sounds rattle all around them, a cacophony of sounds that raise goosebumps along Emma's skin the longer she focuses on them. Her tired eyes begin to droop after several more miles and she nearly sprawls forward, watching intently as Regina expertly avoids brambles and large rocks that would have otherwise impeded them.

"How are you this energetic?” Emma breathes out heavily, catching her breath when Regina pauses in the middle of the path. "My legs are killing me and I'm in great shape."

"Shh." Regina hushes her, going stock still as Hook pauses a short distance behind, listening intently. Brambles snap towards a gap in the trees towards their right and Regina pulls Emma down roughly, hissing at her to be quiet.

The footsteps quicken in their direction and Regina grasps Emma's hand sending a wisp of magic around them that makes Emma's loud breathing inaudible. A black creature as large as a car comes into view, its long snout pressed towards the ground. Moonlight shines off of its sleek dark coat, making Emma shiver against Regina when its dark void less eyes lock on them. Fear rises like a spring in Emma's stomach and Regina leans heavily against her, pressing her lips to Emma's ear.

"Don't move." She whispers softly and Emma trembles for another reason entirely. She closes her eyes as the creature continues its sniffing and in seconds another set of footsteps quicken in its direction.

Regina's fingers tighten against hers, emotions high between them as they both glance at the break in the trees. Boys dressed in animal skin and deer hides carrying pointy spears and deadly looking arrows appear in the clearing, like ghosts materializing out of thin air. They give the small space a cursory glance, carefully stepping around the trees and scanning ahead.

Emma closes her eyes again and two separate child-like voices start chattering among themselves.

“Are you sure that they came this way?” A gruff voice asks, slamming something loudly against a tree as he huffs with disappointment.

“When will you stop questioning my decisions?” The voice of an annoyed boy huffs and the other snorts.

“When you start getting things right.”

Emma glimpses at the closest one, a scar tearing across his jaw and she gasps prompting Regina to slap a hand over her mouth. Her eyes meet Regina's and Regina's jaw tightens.

“The area's clear.” Someone else announces what feels like hours later. 

“Let's report back.”

A tall lanky boy makes his way into the clearing, whittling a spear, a deadly glimmer in his dark eyes. “That's a shame, I _really_ wanted to play with them.” He sighs.

“You'll have your fun soon enough.” The boy with the scar announces. "Besides, the others should have caught up to the man and the dark haired woman."

"All we had to do was capture _one_ person." Their leader says gruffly. "And you idiots couldn't even do that!"

"Hey that blonde haired lady made it to the break in the trees and then _disappeared_." One explains and Emma's blood runs cold as Regina stiffens against her. Blonde haired lady? They were definitely talking about Emma. Hook had his emblem to hide him but how was it possible that they didn't see _Regina_ at Emma's side? "It's not our fault that she probably has magic or-"

Another boy appears, breathing ragged as he clutches his side painfully. The boy with the gruff voice catches him as he slumps against him.

"Report!" The leader hisses, eyes growing dark as he notices the boy's bloodied side. "What the hell happened?"

"A demon showed up, sir." He huffs, his portly face shining with perspiration. "He rescued the man and the woman and took down some of our soldiers."

The leader growls, hands clenching into fists. "Change of plans." He informs them. "We're going after the demon and then we'll take down the blonde woman."

“Wait..." The gruff voice says, pausing as he stands inches from them. "Do you smell that?”

“What is it?”

“Something like…." He screws up his nose. "Cinnamon?”

“No it's apples. Definitely apples.”

“The _entire_ forest smells like it.”

“This isn't an apple forest.” The boy with the scar scoffs.

“Well how do you know?”

A harsh sound echoes through the forest as the boy with the scar swings his spear. "Ow!" The gruff voice hisses. "That hurts."

“Come on, that woman doesn't know our island so she couldn't have gotten far." The tall lanky boy proposes. "Send your shadow for back up. They're all probably searching for each other."

"You better be right." The leader hisses. "Let's go."

When the voices have died down for more than a few minutes, Regina pulls Emma to her feet as Hook finally crosses the short distance over to them.

"It sounds like they've located your family before us." Hook says ruefully. "And they know that you're in this forest, Swan."

"They didn't detect Regina." Emma says. "How is that possible?"

"Maybe they saw you before I cloaked you with our magic?" Regina explains, eyes casting around as she glances at the moonlit path ahead.

"We just walked into one of their meeting points." Hook sighs. "I didn't know about this one. Maybe this island has changed again."

"What do you mean _again_?" Regina growls.

"Didn't you notice that all of my maps of Neverland have conflicting information?" He raises his eyebrows. "Pan likes changing the layout of the land to suit his whims. One map can never do this island justice."

"So what I'm hearing is that you're useless to us." Regina snipes and Emma tugs her forward, breaking her away from her stance against Hook.

"Come on," Emma insists. "No time to lose. We've gotta find my parents." The last word comes out a bit softer but she forces it out as casually as she can.

They continue through the trees and silence falls among them as a pensive look crosses Regina's face.

“Something wrong?” Emma asks after a few minutes, worriedly side eyeing Regina.

“Magic has different scents.” Regina says simply and Emma blinks at the strange topic of conversation.

"Okay..." Emma trails off, unsure what to add.

“Mine usually smells like apples. The dark one’s smells like literal death and decay."

Emma's eyes widen, now catching on to the train of thought. The boys were discussing scents back there. “What about my magic?” Emma asks and Regina's eyes meet hers briefly before she looks away.

“Yours...cinnamon.”

“So together…”

Regina nods gravely. "They detected our magic. We need to be _extra_ careful.”

* * *

They march on for a few miles through the trees, heading higher and higher as the land rises sporadically beneath their feet leading them up towards an incline when the darkness of the night slowly starts fading into the first light of day. Emma yawns widely, tired eyes scanning the never ending coastline now miles beneath them and the fruitless trees that looked nonthreatening in the light of day. How big was Neverland anyway? They'd been walking since they got there!

The sun was now visible, just peaking up from the horizon in the distance when David appears in a huff through the north side of the tree line clutching Snow tighter to his side. Emma's heart thuds with relief but it's short lived when he doesn't even react to their presence and instead points the butt of a spear in the opposite direction. "Let's head over that way!" He instructs and Emma scrambles after them as they dash onto their chosen path.

"Mo -" Emma starts but Regina presses a hand to her mouth just David and Snow are backed into the short clearing they'd just deserted.

"Well, well, well." The boy with the scar announces, his pack of boys trailing behind him. "We finally caught the rats, boys." He chuckles menacingly, twirling a sword in his hand.

Lost boys stream in from the trees, materializing like shadows awaiting a call into the clearing and Emma's blood runs cold as they lift their various weapons, eyes trained on her parents. David holds his spear out, body tensing as Snow stands at his side.

"What do you want with us?" He asks, voice stern.

"Pan wants you." The boy with the scar says easily. "And we're just here to deliver."

David goes down with a well-placed butt of a sword to his nose as one boy darts forward with supernatural speed. He cries out in agony as blood streams down his face and Snow was at his side in an instant, knocking out the lost boy with an elbow as he sought to deal another blow to the back of David’s head. 

Emma, Regina and Hook launch into the fray, turning the tide of the battle when the boys start going down one by one. They fight valiantly, helping Snow and David under the cloak of their magic and soon there are just a few boys left, holding onto trembling weapons as they scan their empty horizon for their invisible attackers.

"Demons!" One boy announces. "There's more of them!"

Magic rises up between Emma and Regina, knocking out a dozen more and the rest run off, leaving their comrades either limping behind them or unconscious on the ground.

"W-Who's there?" Snow asks from her perch at David's side, holding out the one spear between them. Regina grabs Emma's hand, nodding at Emma's parents and Emma closes her eyes and feels as their magic washes over the two, cloaking their presence and making Emma, Regina and Hook visible to them.

"Emma!" Snow gasps and Emma rushes over, throwing her arms around them as they crush her against their bodies. 

* * *

After their brief reunion, healing David's broken nose and catching each other up, the group continues on ahead, moving out from the clearing and down towards the other side where a path curves around a mountain. The view of the rest of Neverland spreads out in front of them, a mass of wilderness with no clear path that begins looking more daunting as the day wears on.

They stop by a stream at the bottom of the cliff, filling a few watering cans that Regina and Emma create along with a few more swords and a bow and arrow for Snow. In the cover of the trees they all settle down for a lunch that Snow and David prepare from a few rabbits they capture and everyone is able to relax for a brief moment.

"Where the hell do we even go from here?" Emma asks, turning to Regina as they cast a few protective enchantments around the space they'd chosen for the evening.

"We find a way to locate Henry." Regina says, eyes falling to the map Hook had made them summon to him. She picks it up and Emma grimaces.

"You're going to need my blood...aren't you?"

Regina just raises a pointed eyebrow and Emma sighs but relents.

It's a simple task that doesn't take long and soon Regina teaches her the words of a simple incantation she'd used on the ship to find their son. The entire map glows with the presence of their magic, a strange feat that Hook marvels at, especially the way its able to do the impossible - it finds Henry's location. A spot on the map glows, a bright golden color and Regina and Emma's eyes lock, a flurry of emotions passing over them as they gaze at the map together.

Within the next few minutes, they pack up their brief camp, slinging their belongings over their shoulders and then they're off again, trudging through the forest with purpose. The ship crash still fresh in everyone's minds, they start asking each other questions, puzzling out the situation that had led to the sinking of the Jolly Roger.

“What I wanna know is how the hell Pan found us on the ship.” Emma hisses, stomping ahead of the group and whipping out her sword to combat the overgrown foliage. "Hook said that the shadow couldn't leave to give him any kind of information."

“Magic.” Hook spits, slashing through a few tangled vines. “I'm not sure where it came from. But it shook the whole ship.”

Emma's eyes widen. “What?”

Hook scoffs. “You couldn't have been sleeping that deeply to not feel _ that _ Swan. I thought the ship was going to float away at one point and then suddenly it was gone.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” David echoes from a few paces behind them. “It lasted for a second but whatever it was, they were attracted to that magic."

“So that's what brought those creatures to us?” Emma asks, eyes finding Regina's. "Could that be...our magic?" She asks and the entire group falls silent.

"Were you doing magic in the wee hours of the morning, Swan?" Hook asks gruffly, eyes cutting to Regina's. "I was the only one on deck at the time, I thought that you only practiced up there."

"We..." Emma starts, stopping when Regina cuts her an icy look. "No. We were asleep."

Silence falls between the group and soon they're descending a steep slope and across another bout of trees into a lower level. There were pots and pans lying around and clothes strewn carelessly along the branches of some trees.

Hook indicated that they were now in the hideout where the glowing map had directed and they advance carefully until they're on the outskirts of what looks like a resting area. With one more step Emma was suddenly buckling to her knees, the assault of an image in her head making her wince with the pain it brought.

Henry cowers before someone, a shadow of a person that passes over his terrified dark eyes. He looks more ragged than Emma's ever seen him, his clothes torn in places and his cheek swollen.

_"My moms will be here." He says stiffly, holding his head high as the person approaches. "They're on the island, I can feel it."_

_"That they are." The low voice of a woman hisses, a voice that tingles in Emma's memory and draws fear in her heart. She comes briefly into view, dressed from head to toe in the finest royal dress. She twirls a hand and Henry's entire body lurches, pain swelling in his chest as his eyes bulge. "You've served your purpose, dear." The voice sneers and the image twists and curls. _

Henry's eyes darken, darker than Emma's ever seen before as magic constricts his chest, rust colored magic with a purple tinge that freezes him in place as a boy slightly older than him approaches.

_His eyes are menacing, contesting the vague smile curling across his mouth as he traces a delicate finger across the sharp edge of a sword. Blood blooms along the sword's edge and the boy sighs deeply, tilting his head._

_"We could have been great together Henry." He coos, a voice Emma instantly hates as the boy's features twist into something entirely ugly._

_"I'm not afraid of you." Henry hisses, heart quickening in his chest. "You're a fraud!"_

_"I know." The boy says, something like disappointment colouring his tone. "You could have been our greatest believer."_

_In a flash, he lashes out with a sword, sinking it past flesh and bone and deep into Henry's chest._

Emma stumbles to her feet, Henry's name leaving her lips as David holds onto her, coaching her to take deep breaths. Emma clings to him, the image of Pan’s sword plunging into her baby boy’s chest, ripping into muscle and grating against bone still too fresh in her mind. Her entire body trembles at the blood that had painted the forest floor, the ashen pallor to Henry’s skin, the choked cry that garbled with blood that fell from his blue lips, and the tears that start streaming down her face were relentless in their torrent.

Emma whimpers against David's neck, eyes pressed tightly shut as she tries to outright reject the images blasting through her mind. 

"Shadows." She hisses, finally answering David's question. "This has to be the work of Pan."

She automatically searches for Regina, noting the despondent way she was slumped against Snow who was frantically urging her to get off the ground.

Regina doesn't respond, instead, she almost curls further in on herself, making Emma cross over to her and drop to her knees as she shakes her. Dark eyes slowly meet hers and the despair dwelling in there and thundering like icy waves across their shared magic stuns Emma. 

"Regina, don't believe in it." Emma hisses, eyes dawning with clarity. "I know that you saw her, you saw Cora, and you saw Henry, but it wasn't real, Pan is making us -"

“Henry.” Regina's soft broken voice flits across to Emma. Emma blinks away the vision, pain magnified by the anguish in Regina's voice. Regina sucks in a deep breath as tears stream unbidden down her face and Emma's heart clenches in return.

Regina's hands tremble as she tries to hold herself together and Emma loses the internal debate she has with herself as she kneels before her and tentatively puts her arms around Regina. Regina clings to her, hands fisting in her tunic. 

“H- He....” She grits out once more and Emma's eyes flood with tears. Regina’s entire body shakes with the need to lash out, to curse this wretched island into the fiery depths of hell, to bring her wrath upon every one and every living creature within a hairsbreadth of their lowly lives, to blame someone, anyone, something tangible other than a fucking _ shadow _ for her hurt and pain. Emma feels it all, like liquid fire racing across their magic.

“It’s not your fault.” Emma whispers hoarsely. Regina shakes her head, closing her eyes tightly as she purses her lips, ready to argue with Emma. But a finger delicately placed against her trembling lips made her swallow the words. Emma leans forward then, lightly pressing their foreheads together. 

Regina's eyes sprung back open at the gesture and Emma could see the doubts they held, the heavy burden of blame and guilt that Regina was placing on herself. She recognized it all too well. Clearing her throat a bit, she continues softly.

“We’ll find him, Regina. We’ll find our son, alive, and we’ll bring him home.”

Regina nods, something Emma could only minutely detect with their foreheads pressed together.

"Come on, let's go."

Regina doesn't reply but she does get up to accompany Emma back to camp. She remains stoic for the rest of the night, leaving Emma to fend for herself in messily setting up the rest of camp with their magic and explaining the onslaught of images they'd seen to the rest of their confused group.

* * *

Regina's still the same the next day and within a few hours of being ignored, Emma breaks, unable to handle the silence between them.

It did nothing to quell her rising irritation when Regina would glance at her, a weird sensation she’d feel burning at the back of her head and before she could look up and make eye contact the former Mayor would already be looking somewhere else.

Regina was being too difficult for her own good. At random times she’d feel her magic burn hot and smolder beneath her veins. Other times it was just pleasant and content and other times it felt like a physical pull. Usually when it did that insistent tugging thing she’d look up and snag Regina’s gaze with her own.

A few seconds later and Regina would scowl at her, a furrow between her brows, a hardness to dark eyes and tight pull to full lips. It would leave her aching to make it up to Regina somehow but she’d scowl right back all righteous indignation and unrepentant and Regina’d scoff and look away.

Today Regina had volunteered to help them catch fish. 

_Regina_.

With her so called enemies.

Emma shakes her head, gathering as much firewood as she could. That in itself was testament to the fact that Regina was avoiding her as much as possible. When Regina, Snow and David get back to camp with their catch, Emma watches her, aching at the despondency, at this anomaly, at the cold look in her eyes whenever she speaks.

She corners Regina away from the camp a few hours later where she sits on a log overlooking a small cliff and asks if they could talk.

Regina doesn't even acknowledge her and Emma sits on the log too as silence consumes them. The emotions that flow through their connection is all jumbled and at times, if Emma allows herself to dwell upon it, it would make her eyes glassy with unshed tears. Clearly Regina was hurting, but was being this callous to Emma even worth it if she could feel Emma's hurt too?

Did she even care?

Of course she does, the answer is obvious in the way Regina's eyes shift to meet Emma's when the question floats across her mind. Those dark eyes that hold so many emotions that she withholds even from Emma at a moment's notice. Emma shuffles a little closer, never breaking eye contact as she leans gently against Regina's side.

"Are you okay?" Emma asks softly and Regina's eyes stubbornly tear away from hers, fluttering shut. Emma doesn't let the silence that would consume them fester. “Give me your _ rage_.” She pleads, fingers digging into Regina’s simple blouse as she tucks her face against Regina’s neck. She doesn’t care anymore about coming across as needy. She just _ wants _ ...she grits her teeth, tears stubbornly filling her eyes. “Anything except this...this _ emptiness_.”

Regina cups her cheek, the action so gentle that Emma falters under those dark eyes that sweep over her. A pained look briefly flits across Regina’s face before it abruptly disappears. Her thumb strokes across Emma’s skin, once, twice, a touch that lingers like a caress with burning embers. _ Magic_, Emma’s mind whispers. _ Their _magic. Emma’s lost in the warmth of it, in the dizziness of Regina’s scent, in eyes like midnight and lips as potent as fine wine. 

Regina stares back evenly, a pinnacle of stoicism that crumbles into a shaky gasp when Emma shifts and presses a lingering kiss along the column of her neck. Regina’s fingers instantly tangle in Emma’s hair and the Savior freezes against her. There’s a beat of tension, the distant noises of the forest sweeping over them before Regina presses Emma closer. It's a gentle touch that burns across Emma’s skin and Emma wants to broach the distance and kiss her, kiss away the aching pain and reassure Regina. But she doesn't. She has no idea where they stood with their relationship.

Emma’s eyes flutter weakly, her tenuous composure shattering as she welcomes the warm points of full body contact. But before she can act, Regina abruptly pulls away. Emma stumbles a little at the momentum, catching herself before she falls over.

It’s just that they spent several weeks on board that ship and they’ve known each other for almost an entire year now and Emma has had enough of this hot and cold bullshit. Regina stands, turning on her heel and Emma rises after her, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her back.

“Look me in the eyes and tell me that you don't have feelings for me.” Is what leaves her mouth. She supposes that she should have know that she'd reached her breaking point. How many times had she done this same thing to others? And now, here it was, happening to her and she was downright angry at Regina for trying to run away whenever things got heavy between them.

Regina bristles, eyes hardening as they regard Emma. "Is now really the time for this?"

"Answer me!" Emma grits out. She was tired of this limbo between them. They had to talk about it seriously.

“What you felt was me needing a distraction.” Regina cuts her off swiftly. “What you felt was us giving in to grief.”

“Stop.” Emma hisses, heart aching at Regina’s cruel words.

“We need to stay focused.” Regina sighs heavily, eyes downcast as she pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm here to look for my son." And there it was, using Henry as an excuse.

"Our son." Emma stubbornly contests and Regina inhales a slow breath, eyes drifting across the clearing and towards the trees.

"I'm going to put up a protective barrier."

"I'll come with -."

"No."

"I'm not letting you go alone," Emma shakes her head. "Besides, it's _our_ magic now and -"

"It's a simple spell." Regina hisses. "I can do it in my sleep."

"I'm not letting you -"

"I need to clear my head! Is that alright with you?" Regina asks, the sarcasm in her voice cutting at Emma. Emma lets her go, jaw tightening as Regina turns on her heel once more.

"I feel...so much when I'm with you." Emma admits ruefully. Regina freezes where she stands, breathing out a shaky breath. Silence envelopes them, a potent silence that makes Emma's chest constrict.

“I do feel something for you.” Regina admits, tone steely. Hope dares to blossom in Emma’s chest but it tamps out the minute Regina continues. “I feel annoyance, anger, _ hatred_. I feel like I’m pulling most of our weight on this trip. That I’ve been right about the stupid pirate and this stupid place and all you’ve done is contest me on every decision I’ve dared to make thus far. I feel like you're not taking our magic seriously, like you've stopped practicing just because I'm controlling what you do with it so that we don't die out here in this godforsaken jungle!" Regina huffs out, tension leaking from her voice as she side eyes Emma. "Feel free to stop me Miss Swan, I can continue.”

Emma recoils, jaw tightening as her shaky fingers curl into fists. “Is is too much to ask you to be real with me, just for a few seconds?”

"Be real?" Regina laughs incredulously, finally turning around. “_Fine_. I'll be _real_. I really want you to leave me alone!" She shouts, stomping off in anger.

“Fine!" Emma shouts after her retreating figure. "Just don't fucking die on your way back from being _alone_."

* * *

Emma doesn’t sleep very well that night. If she’s being honest, she’s been relying on power naps ever since they left the safe confines of the Jolly Roger.

There’s something too ominous about the shadows that play just beyond the rise of the trees at night, or the wind that whispers across their silent little camp, or the silence of the animals in the forest at particular times during the day. It’s all grating at her, building up the anxiety she can feel just under the surface of her skin that has her magic reacting, just as untamed as she is, rising and falling like the frantic beating of her heart.

She glances over on the other side of the camp where her parents are, murmuring words of comfort to each other before they both go to bed. The way that they both show their love for each other brings a smile to Emma's lips but also an ache to her heart. She can't believe that she wants that. She wants that normalcy, that lovey dovey thing she always ran away from. It's different this time....the way she feels for Regina is so all consuming. She's never truly felt this way about anyone before and the fact of the matter is that it scares her. But it was probably scaring Regina more.

Hours pass with Emma staring at the dancing flame as it burns lower and lower and sleep doesn't come at all. She tugs her threadbare blankets closer, trying to ignore the way her back feels against the stony earth she’d carelessly thrown her sleeping bag onto a few hours ago when a soft whimper catches her attention from the other side of the fire. She blinks heavily against the brightness of the flame, thinking that perhaps she’s somehow imagined it or fallen asleep for a second. But she hears the sound again, along with a sharp intake of breath.

Ignoring the chill that immediately descends against her skin, Emma pushes herself up on an elbow, blonde hair tumbling over her shoulders as she glances over to the side Hook and Regina had taken up. Hook’s as still as stone, flask clutched to his breastbone, his heavy breathing indicating that he was deeply asleep. There’s a soft whimper again as Emma’s eyes flit over to the former queen where she’s tossing and turning.

A soft sob echoes across the camp and Emma’s acutely alert then, body singing with apprehension as wet sobs begin emanating from Regina. She’s just sort of lost, frozen at the sounds as Regina tosses and turns in her sleeping bag, fingers digging into the thick material and turning white with the strength she’s exerting. Emma's heart aches and she presses a hand against her chest, willing it to stop.

Suddenly Regina bolts upright, eyes wide and frantic and Emma immediately lays back down, giving the woman a vague sense of privacy.

Regina swallows a few deep gulps of air, running shaky palms across her sweaty forehead. She just sits there, staring into the void of darkness of the forest for such a long time that Emma feels herself wanting to make her aware that she was awake too. But Regina’s mask crumbles a second later and Emma’s still frozen against her sleeping bag, stunned at the emotions that flit across those delicate features. With a deep groan, Regina pulls her knees up and drapes her arms over them, burying her face against her arms as her entire body _ shakes_.

“Henry.” She sobs and Emma’s chest constricts. She’s been pushing the emotional grief of this trip so deep inside of her that it surprises her when it claws its way up her throat and suddenly threatens to consume her.

Regina went stock still then and slowly turned her head in Emma's direction and Emma realizes that yes, this magical connection runs both ways so of course Regina would feel whatever she was feeling in the moment.

Emma bristles and Regina scowls, dimming the fire just enough so that Emma could see those dark cold eyes. 

"Spying on people in the middle of the night, Miss Swan?" Regina sat up straighter. "Can't say I'm surprised." 

Emma sat up then, licking her suddenly dry lips."It wasn’t exactly planned. Besides, I don't consider it spying if I couldn't go to sleep.” Regina doesn't reply, the dark circles beneath her eyes giving away just how exhausted the stubborn woman was. 

"I've heard talking helps." Emma shrugs.

"I'm fine." Regina says, giving Emma a pointed stare to back down.

"Using magic also helps." Emma states pointedly, standing and indicating that Regina should follow her.

She's a bit surprised when Regina does.

* * *

_Fuck, come on! _ Emma hisses, staring blankly down at her outstretched palm. She doesn’t know exactly how long she’s been standing there, trying to get her magic under control, but her left leg was kinda starting to fall asleep. She huffs, closing her eyes to shield herself from Regina’s unwavering probing gaze. _ Latent magic_, Regina had called it, surmising that Emma’s ability to direct her magic was in fact dormant. 

She’d initially scoffed at the concept because that was utter bullshit.

_ Magic _ was the only thing Emma has been able to _ feel _since they’d portaled into the sweltering heated insanity of Neverland. It crawled along her skin like invisible electric lines and pounded between her forehead like the fiercest migraine she’s ever experienced. It should be easy to summon!

But alas, it wasn’t. 

They’d been standing there, surrounded by dense shrubbery overlooking an outcropping of rocks for the better part of an hour and still no progress had been made. Emma just couldn’t seem to grasp the concept of directing her power.

“Honestly, Miss Swan. If this is as far as your so called _ natural talents _ go, then I believe that we’re done for the day.” Regina berates and Emma glares, breathing ragged as beads of perspiration trickle uncomfortably down her chest. She clenches her jaw, blocking out Regina’s taunting words and that unnerving smirk that curls the corner of her lips with the realization that she’s struck a nerve.

Emma growls and her light magic rises from her palm like sharp lines curling in the air. Inches away from her palm, the force of it is almost enough to drag her forward, tugging at _ something_. Emma frowns, struggling to hold onto it when Regina snaps.

“Can’t you do anything right?!” She barks sharply, effectively breaking Emma’s concentration and making her lose the careful hold on her magic. “Or does incompetence run rampant in your genes?”

Emma glowers but still doesn’t respond. Instead, she runs frustrated hands through her hair and takes a deep breath. She closes her eyes, damp with perspiration too, a testament to how the humid Neverland air was affecting her. A light sheen of perspiration also clung to her dark grey tank top, dripping down lightly muscled forearms as she gazed at the backdrop of the rising sun. What she wouldn’t give to be back in her shoebox apartment in Storybrooke with a functional ac unit.

But she couldn’t get back to her place if she didn’t help Regina rescue Henry. She glances at Regina then, resolve settling in and the power resonating from deep within her body almost pulses. She blinks, eyes seemingly glowing with white magic as she glances over at Regina.

An odd expression crosses Regina’s face. It’s something Emma’s only ever seen once before. It’s a slightly awed look that settles somewhere in Emma’s gut, reminding her of a few weeks back when she’d first told Regina that she had magic.

She'd also seen it that night on the ship when they'd...Regina breaks eye contact first, clearing her throat. “Do it again.”

Emma's face flushes bright red and she quickly files those thoughts away, breathing out steadily and summoning her magic. It crackles in a frenzy of white threads of electricity in her palm, drawing an elated smile to her face. The pull from it intensifies in a matter of seconds and Emma gasps, looking up just in time to see Regina wince.

Their eyes meet and it's _ different_. Emma can't put her finger on it, on this thing hovering like a blanket of warmth and a certainty that's never quite been at this level before. It leaves her breathless, drawn to Regina like a moth to a flame. 

She touches Regina's forearm and they both startle, the point of connection somehow intensifying. Regina doesn't remove her hand, instead, she frowns, eyes searching Emma's as she cups Emma's cheek. Emma inhales sharply, eyes fluttering as Regina's warm hand touches her heated skin. Regina's eyes are so intense. It's like a magnetic field, pulling Emma into her, and Emma can't hope to resist it as Regina's thumb sweeps across the bow of Emma's lips and her eyes soften just a degree. It's a change that's so visceral that it hurts to see it shutter away when rustling in the nearby bushes breaks their fixation on each other and they both drop their hands, clearing their throats. 

A tiny squirrel jumps out, scurrying up a tree and they breathe a collective sigh.

“Once more, Miss Swan.” Regina instructs, and Emma obeys, that power curling inside her easier now and the fireball comes instantly.

Regina nods, the approval in her eyes palpable. She uses their magic to summon the map from camp and Emma's brows furrow as she sets it down on the stony earth. 

"Let's try that spell again to locate Henry." She says decisively and this time Emma's able to hold her own, letting the magic in the words flow from her source and out towards her palms and soon, the map is glowing yet again with that golden dot.

Regina frowns, eyes set in the distance where the darkest crop of trees indicated the glow was coming from and then back at the map. "Do you know where that place is?" Regina asks and Emma shakes her head, unable to make sense of the scribbles Hook and Regina had made upon the map as they corrected it while the group ventured across the island. "This map is saying that Henry's right over there." She jerks her head towards the short distance ahead of them where the dark forest looms, brilliant and terrifying even in the light of day.

Emma's eyes meet Regina's. "This could be a trap." Regina says instantly. "Maybe one of us should go back to camp and -"

"No." Emma swiftly cuts her off. "Henry is _our_ son and if this is a solid lead then we are going to find him and if not," Emma shrugs. "We're going to beat the hell out of anyone in our way."

* * *

“I hope you’re watching where you’re going.” Is the only comment Regina makes in her general direction after what felt like hours of walking through the supposed dark forest and Emma glowers.

“I’m not gonna –” But that was all Emma manages to get out before her boot catches on a tree root. The Savior goes sprawling forward in a pile of flailing limbs landing flat on her face – in the middle of a mud pile. “Ugh.” She mutters, wiping the mud from her eyes.

Regina wasn't even trying to hide the smile curving her lips as she stared at Emma in amusement.

“Not a word from you.” Emma bit out testily. Regina did chuckle then, giving Emma a superior haughty look that suggested she wasn’t even gonna comply.

“Why do I feel like this is you in your natural setting, Miss Swan?”

“_Very funny_.” Emma mocks, crawling a short distance away from the pile so she could stand better. “Help me up.” She demands, hand outstretched to the other woman. Regina just eyes the outstretched limb dismissively. “I’m serious.”

“If you think I’m going to help you you’re more delusional than I thought.” 

Emma stares at her pointedly. “Regina. _Help_.” 

When Regina does nothing but blink at her, Emma tries standing up but she instantly loses traction beneath her boots and slips to the ground once more. 

“Use your magic.” Regina replies and Emma grumbles but tries nonetheless.

She closes her eyes and visualizes her magic surrounding her and clearing away the mud. But when she reopens them, she was still sticky. Huffing petulantly, she peers up at Regina sullenly, lower lip sticking out. The former queen rolls her eyes and sighs like this was somehow putting her out of her way.

When a dainty flick of her wrist didn’t clear the blonde’s clothes of the mud Regina grows anxious.

“My magic.” She whispers. Emma could feel it too, something new was blocking it, acting like a barrier between her and the readily available source of magic that surges defiantly beneath her veins as it abruptly goes still before it could outwardly manifest.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s…” She shakes her head. “Never mind. Here.” She holds out a dainty hand to Emma. Emma immediately reaches up, eyeing the limb mischievously and then Regina.

“Miss Swan, I swear if you-”

With one hand, Emma swiftly jerks Regina forward, clearly not thinking the action through when she lost her footing again and this time the former queen fell on top of her.

“You idiot.” Regina hisses, branding Emma’s chest with a slap.

“Ow.” Emma cowers, hiding her face when Regina's lashes move towards her face. “Hey.” _ Swat_. “Quit it.” _ Swat_. “_Regina_.” _ Swat_.

In a move that was quite possibly more graceful than the former queen would ever admit or give her credit for, Emma traps her wrists against her chest and then twists their bodies so that Regina was now the one laying in the puddle of mud.

Emma leans forward, quite smug in her defiance and Regina’s comments die on her lips when one of Emma’s legs land between hers, unintentionally pushing against the apex of her thighs.

Regina grits her teeth at the welcomed but unwelcomed pressure and Emma breathes out heavily, hands still trapping the clearly stunned woman glaring up at her with an annoyance that felt like retribution had been served.

She notices that Regina’s hair was now covered in mud too and couldn’t help the soft snort that left her lips. Regina blinks up at her, body humming with energy that flows messily into Emma as she squirms against her.

“Miss Swan.” She growls, breath catching as Emma’s smug grin takes over her entire face. Emma's green eyes drifts towards her rogue leg before locking again with dark eyes. She grins then, pressing forward _ intentionally _ this time, leaning ever closer to the prone woman cradled between her thighs. Regina gives her a disapproving look.

“Problem?” Emma questions cheekily, moving her thigh even further up so that it really rubs against the seam of the former queen’s irritatingly sleek trousers.

“Emma.” The Savior’s name leaves her lips in a whisper that makes Emma's emerald eyes fall to her lips. 

“Your majesty.” Emma addresses her like she always did, except, this time, the teasing lilt that usually accompanies it was missing. It sounds just a tad breathless and a tad…_wanting_. They were so close that Emma could see the flecks of brown disappearing behind Regina's blown pupils.

The ghost of a warm breath against her own lips had Emma's limbs frozen to the forest floor and she couldn’t stop that little traitorous sigh that emanated from her throat when their noses brushed.

Although they were pretending that the situation between them was normal, this definitely wasn’t.

There was the undertone of a different type of heat that lingers between them now and just contemplating it had Emma's breaths coming out in short bursts of air as her body aches to press against Regina's.

Seemingly coming back to reality, Emma pulls back just a little enough for the both of them to breathe normally again.

“I can’t access my magic.” Regina finally manages to blurt out. "Or yours."

Emma tries to summon her magic, realizing that Regina was right when the magic in her veins didn't move at all. "What the hell is going on?" Emma rushes out, scrambling off of Regina.

Together, they help each other out of the mud pit, drenched in it by the time they're back on dry earth. Emma groans, hating the squishy feeling in her boots and the coldness of her butt when something crackles in the air behind them. She freezes as Regina continues muttering about how she'd like to throw Emma off a cliff for her stupid stunts and she grabs hold of her hand, getting Regina's attention.

“Shh, do you hear that?” Emma asks. Regina immediately tenses at her side.

The forest went deathly still then, the kind of silence that feels ominous and foreboding. The map with Henry's location glows a few feet away and Emma's eyes scan the trees, preparing for something unknown. A loud groan pierces the air, eerie and unnatural rising goosebumps along Emma's skin. Emma felt Regina stiffen at her side, fingers clenching so tightly in hers as they took a few cautious steps towards the nearest tree.

“Swan.” She whispers, eyes widening when the sounds grow louder.

“Yeah.” Emma grits her teeth, protective instincts flaring. “We’re not alone.”

“Who’s out there?” Regina growls, immediately managing to summon her elusive magic in the form of a fireball. She did the action with little ease as a wave of nausea practically rocks through Emma's head. She groans, vision blurring momentarily and the fireball in Regina's palm blinks out of existence as she sways on the spot.

“Regina!” Emma hisses, quickly wrapping an arm around the suddenly pale woman.

A shadowy figure flies past the trees with lightning speed and in an instant there are tons of little sparkling flies, darting around the forest. A person comes running right alongside them, frantically breaking through a line of trees and Emma freezes for another reason when their face finally comes into view.

“Neal?” Emma calls out, disbelief gripping her as she takes in his ragged form. He wore the same shirt and jeans he'd disappeared into that portal with, only now it was torn and dirtied beyond recognition in some places.

“Emma!” Neal shouts relief colouring his voice and he changes his path to head in her direction. One of those shadow creatures rushes at him, clawing at his ankle and sending him tumbling toward the ground. Neal cries out, pain radiating up his leg and instantly arrows of white light rained from above, melting the shadow in a pool of light. Neal scrambles over towards them and Emma recoils, shaking the barely conscious form of Regina in her arms.

“Regina are you okay? Neal’s here...somehow. I don't understand what's happening. I don't know if it's truly him or-”

"We have to get out of here." Regina rushes out and Emma nods, hands shaking as she tries to grasp at their tendrils of magic.

"I'm trying my best."

Regina nods wearily, gritting her teeth as she hangs heavily onto Emma, eyes unfocused. Taking a deep breath she summons her magic and Emma feels it tug at the very edges of her vision but fizzles out like dust.

The balls of light surround Neal and he panics, ducking his head just in time for the fire to tumble through the air and lodge itself with a burning hiss into a tree.

“Trespassers!” A voice like bells was suddenly obnoxiously loud in the surrounding forest. Emma looks around wildly for the voice, subtly placing herself in front of Regina as she took on a defensive stance. It was coming from the bright lights and when Emma looks closer, she sees wings. _Fairy_ wings.

“Trespassers!” The bell like voices echo in unison this time and Emma sunk the rest of the way to the floor with a suddenly unconscious former Mayor as the bright lights lit up the forest.

Neal falls to the forest floor with a loud _ thunk _ and immediately scrambles to his feet. 

“Neal.” Emma breathes, clutching Regina as her suddenly un-dead ex ambles over towards them. Her eyes burns with rage and she let out a growl of her own. “Stop! H-How do I know you’re you and this isn’t a trick?”

“Emma I’ve been looking for a way to Neverland ever since I found out Henry got taken.” Neal implores, palms raised in a placating gesture.

The Neal impostor was closing in on her from one side while the fairies hovered in the air on the other side. She feels cornered and she hisses as Neal moves forward again, halting his steps at the wild look in her eyes.

“Emma don’t taunt them. We can make a break for it.” He implores. Emma clutches Regina tighter to her chest, sitting herself up on the soft forest earth. She huffs petulantly, closing her eyes as she tries envisioning a fireball in her palm.

Before she could summon the magic already thrumming beneath her skin she was hit in the face with…a ball glitter?

_ Actual glitter _she muses lightly as her eyes suddenly grew heavy and her limbs weak.

She was unconscious beside Regina a moment later.


	6. Hollow

When Emma comes to, she’s laying on a makeshift sleeping bag around a low burning campfire. She frowns, sitting up groggily as she blinks slowly up at the bright morning sky. How long was she out? She frowns, looking down at herself. How did she even make it back there?

Neal’s face flashes in her mind and she casts her gaze around the campsite looking for him. Her parents come strolling back through the trees with a rabbit and some herbs and Snow rushes to Emma’s side, wrapping her in strong arms.

“You’re awake.” She sighs, squeezing Emma like she’d been gone for a long time. “Thank goodness.”

“Mo-” The word sticks in Emma’s throat but she presses on. “Snow.” She says instead as David also wraps a strong comforting arm around her. “How long was I out?”

“Three days.” Snow says somberly and Emma scrambles groggily to her knees, eyes frantically searching the campsite for Regina. “Hook said that poppy dust was used to knock you out. We were only able to give you the antidote after finding the flower in the middle of a grove last night.”

Emma blinks sluggishly, eyes returning to David’s. “Where are the others?” She asks.

“Gathering firewood and edible mushrooms.” He answers, lifting the two rabbits with his other hand. “I’ve been left in charge of cleaning this for our meal.”

Emma looks around again, noticing that besides her own, there were four sleeping bags. If Neal was there, and Hook was there...

“Where’s Regina?”

“I only had time to grab you.” Neal’s voice answers and Emma turns to see him approaching with Hook. They were carrying water skins, firewood and some edible mushrooms which they then handed over to Snow.

“How did you manage to get us out?” Emma asks, recalling the swarm of fairies that had overwhelmed them within the forest.

“We were already at the break in the trees, they can’t cross that line. While they surrounded Regina I managed to pull you over it. I’m sorry but I couldn’t save you both.”

Emma's heart drops to the bottom of her chest with that explanation.

"No." She says, springing shakily to her feet. Eyes adjusting slightly to the brightness of day, she peers curiously at Neal, unable to shake the feeling that _ something _ just wasn’t right about his explanation. Emma's magic rises without her conscious decision, probing at the air, searching for Regina. It doesn't find her, proving their story right and knots tighten in her chest. "I have to go get her."

"Oh no you don't." Snow says immediately, grabbing onto Emma and pulling her back down towards the sleeping back. "You need rest."

"Why?" Emma grits out. "Apparently I've been asleep for three whole days! I'm totally _fine_!"

* * *

  
She was _not_ in fact, totally fine.

Emma's entire body began shaking within minutes of waking up, magic swarming at her fingertips and making her nauseous and her parents had trapped her in her sleeping bag, bringing her icky medicinal herbs to curb her nausea like they'd been doing back on the ship.

To make matters worse, everyone was bonding and chattering like everything was completely _fine_!

Neal and Hook apparently knew each other from their days as lost boys which made everyone suspicious at Neal in an instant. He explained that he'd portaled to Neverland a few weeks ago and had been laying low ever since. He produced a trinket much like Hook's from around his neck. This one was golden and shaped like the sun. It sparkles when the light of the sun hits it just right and serves as protection, another of those _fairy_ emblems.

So why did the fairies attack Neal? Emma's eyes narrow at the deer in the headlights expression that crosses his face when she asks and he breathes out steadily and tells her that since they couldn't see him they probably thought that he was another shadow. Which begs the question on _how_ exactly Emma and the rest could see him and Hook. They explained that they could briefly manipulate the belief magic in the emblem if they didn't want to hide from someone.

When asked if he'd seen his father on the island Neal got a pensive look and shook his head. He said he'd been around a few of the lost boy camps and heard that they'd chased him into the dark forest so that's why he went there. And unintentionally ran into Emma and Regina. Some of his story seemed totally strange but Emma couldn't make head or tail of what she found odd about it with her stomach acting up.

David was being extra protective and asking to assist Emma every time she attempted to stand. He was extra chatty with Neal and Hook and it was a strange sort of relief to find them all bonding.

Snow, on the other hand, kept tossing her these looks every single time she so much as glanced in Neal’s general direction. She knew that her mother meant well but that particular train had sailed. They’d never be able to work through their multiple issues to even form a stable home for Henry. Besides, Emma was much more interested in her son’s other mother than his birth father.

She had been separated from Regina for a little more than seventy-two hours, being unconscious for most of it, but now it was driving her up a wall. Emma was more than ready to march back into that forest and investigate for herself.

She missed Regina. Her magic had been what she’d reluctantly classified as extra _needy_. She huffs at the thought, even as the tendrils of white surging beneath her veins spring forth, searching for calm, searching for an essential missing element, _ searching _for Regina.

* * *

“Forget about Regina for a second!” Snow crosses her arms on Emma's second day of moaning about them taking her back to the forest to find her. Emma glares up at her from the tree stump she'd commandeered, hating the fact that her limbs felt so weak. She was seriously contemplating running back into that forest no matter how much they protested. “We have to follow that trail, it could lead us to Henry!”

The trail in question being the movement of the golden light on the map summoned by Emma and Regina. It was now somewhere straight across the island and Emma knew it would be days before they even got there. David crouches at her side, taking a seat next to the tree stump. He places a comforting hand against her rigid shoulders which makes her immediately look over at him.

“What’s wrong?” He inquires softly and Emma's grateful for the sense of calm he seems to inspire in her at will.

“I don’t feel comfortable looking for Henry in this place without Regina.”

Her parents exchange wary glances and Emma sighs, pressing her face into her hands.

“I don’t mean to intrude here –” Hook interjects from across the camp but Emma cuts him off.

“Then don’t.”

"The Queen has magic doesn't she?" Hook shrugs. "If anyone can survive in the forest, I'd bet it would be her."

"Did you see what that dust did to me?" She hisses, eyes flinty with outrage as he stares back evenly. "They hit her with it too." Emma grits out.

"But the lad needs to be found." Hook protests. "Isn't that the very reason for us all being here?"

“Henry’s _ your _ son Emma. _ Yours_.” Snow cuts in, taking a seat on the forest floor next to David.

“No.” Emma shakes her head. “I’m his birth mother and Regina is his mother.”

“A parent isn't –”

Emma spins around to glare at her so fast that Mary Margaret almost gets whiplash from the rage burning behind her eyes. It immediately shuts her up. “You don’t get to pull that crap with me.”

“Honey, we-”

“You’ve been parents for what...five minutes?” Emma chuckles mirthlessly, swallowing with a little difficulty when her parents' expressions fall.

  
  
“Emma we’re only trying to help.” David says meekly, reaching out towards her once more.

Emma shakes her head, shrugging off his hand. “You don’t get a free pass when it comes to being a crappy parent and neither do I. I gave Henry up and Regina picked up the slack. So I'm only going to say this once." She says evenly, getting to her feet. "We’re going to find Regina and then we’re going to find my son. End of discussion.”

David sighs heavily. “Emma, at least rest for a bit, you were out for three days. We were worried when it looked like you weren’t going to wake up.”

"I feel fine." Emma insists, ignoring the slight tremor in her knees as she crosses the camp. “And I know that Regina's still in there.” She says pointedly. “I can feel it.”

Neal frowns thoughtfully, shifting on top of his sleeping bag. “What do you mean you can _ feel _ it?”

“I…” she presses a hand across her stomach, aching at the way her magic surges like crazy beneath her skin. “I can feel her magic...calling out to mine.”

“You have magic.” Neal says like a revelation. “Does Henry?”

“Not that I know of.” Emma replies, eyes flitting back towards the forest. Neal stands, holding out a hand to her and Emma's eyes briefly flit to her parents where Snow pretends to be interested in whatever was in her cup.

"Let's go for a walk." He says, smiling at her in a way that makes those traitorous fond memories in her head stir. 

Emma takes his hand and allows him to lead her away, attaching David's sword to her side and assuring them that they'll be back in time for dinner.

* * *

Neal and Emma walk for a bit, silence hanging heavy between them. There's so much Emma wants to say to him, wants to drop that friendly act she'd put on in Storybrooke when he'd first arrived and she thought she had to be cordial for the sake of their son.

She wants _answers_, a whole goddamn book of explanations as to why Neal did what he did. But a part of her has long since closed that chapter of her life and never wants to read through those pages ever again. She doesn't want to feel sorry for him, doesn't want to justify his actions in any way possible.

Sighing heavily, Emma finally finds the courage to look at him and finds him already staring at her, hands deep in his pockets. She looks away, jaw clenching and she can't keep it in anymore.

"I thought that you were dead." The words break the tension in the air around them and Neal nods like its one he's expected.

"I did leave Storybrooke in rough shape." He jokes like she knows he would but she doesn't want him to pass this off as something funny.

"No, Neal." She stops, eyes flitting out towards the trees beneath the cliff they were walking along. "When I was imprisoned, I convinced myself that you were dead so that I could move on with my life."

"Ouch." Neal says and Emma doesn't do anything to lessen the sting of the blow. He sighs heavily, scrubbing a weary hand across his face. "I guess I deserved that."

"You deserve more than that." Emma hisses, eyes bright with anger and magic humming at her fingertips. "You deserved to rot in that prison more than I did."

Silence falls between them, Emma's harsh words a blow that Neal takes with a meekness that makes her upset for some reason. "I'm sorry." He says, meaningfully. "If I could go back I'd-"

"_What_?" Emma turns to him, voice frosty. "You'd stop yourself from leading me on?" She asks, taking a step that takes her closer to him. "You'd stop yourself from letting me and your unborn kid take the fall?" Something tugs harshly at the seams of Emma's skin, something bright like an image as she closes her eyes and clutches her forehead.

Neal swallows hard, digging his hands deeper into his pockets. "I was young..." He shakes his head, jaw clenching. "I - I know that's _no_ excuse."

"I know that you didn't know about Henry at the time but what makes all of this hard for me is the fact that I trusted you _so_ completely." She shakes her head, breathing out shakily. The image blinks in her mind again making her vision slightly blurry. "I was such a fool."

"Emma, please." 

"No." She stops walking altogether, magic blooming against her chest like a heavy wave as Regina's calls out to her, dragging her attention away from the conversation at hand. "Whatever it is, I don't want to hear it."

Emma doesn't resist the pull of the magic this time. She lets it wash over her, relishing in the safety of the familiarity as it brushes against hers. The image sharpens in her mind then, an image of Regina, dressed in a strange type of clothing standing rigidly in the middle of a small hut. Emma's knees shake and Neal's grabs her in an instant, calling her name with urgency but she can't hear anything beyond the fog.

* * *

_Regina anxiously paces the length of the tent, biting her lower lip and wringing her fingers as she mumbles to herself. How long was she supposed to stay there? Trapped in a place with no escape. It had already been _weeks_ since she'd last felt the stirrings of Emma's magic and she was...homesick without it._

_"Come on Regina, you'll wear a hole into the ground if you're not careful." Tinkerbell's soft bell like voice floats across to her. Her voice is sorrowful, like she was hurting just because Regina was hurting._

_Regina doesn't even pause to give the fairy her usual level of snark, clutching Henry's picture to her chest as helpless tears fill her eyes. She swipes at them harshly, sighing audibly as dark eyes survey the terrain of pixie woods where the Neverland fairies were busy getting ready for another day. She squeezes her eyes shut, grabbing at those elusive tendrils of magic just beneath her skin but they refuse to budge._

_"Don't worry, we've been working on a plan to at least get you some of your magic back. We should be able to find traces of pixum in the mines, it's faint, but it's there." _

_"I'll be less inclined to worry if you were making an inkling of progress." Regina snaps, cutting her a fierce glare. Tinkerbell sighs. _

_"Come on, I know something that'll calm you down." _

_"A glass of scotch would really take the edge off." _

_Tinkerbell frowns. "Well we don't have...whatever that is but we do have-" _

_"I'm never drinking that vile concoction ever again." Regina turns back to the window dismissively. "I'd just...really like to be alone right now." _

_"And I don't think that's a good idea." Tinkerbell says beseechingly. She picks up her bow and arrow and walks over to the doorway. "I know a great place in these woods. Very secluded, very private. It'll give you time to yourself so you won't have to deal with all the attention." _

_Regina bristles, forcing a laugh. "I don't care about simpering fairies who want a look at the new addition to their pixie prison." _

_Tinkerbell rolls her eyes, shouldering her quiver as she takes in the defeated posture of her new guest. Regina wasn't making this easy on her and although part of her misses the idealistic girl she once knew, she was slowly beginning to reconcile her with the woman spitting venom at the world and tearfully clutching one of those modern day paintings of her son. "Just be ready after lunch. I'll come meet you when my training session ends and we'll go together." _

_"Is Vidia going to be tailing us again?" Regina asks tentatively and Tinkerbell smirks. She knew the two hot headed women held a special sort of understanding with each other. They were both temperamental at best and had begrudgingly come to a sort of understanding. It amused Tink to no end when they'd snarkily inquire about the other's whereabouts. _

_"No, she'll be on guard duty on the far side of the dark forest today." _

* * *

The images blur in Emma's mind sending her reeling back to the present where Neal was cradling her way too close to his chest as he called her name repeatedly. She shifts in his embrace and his sighs, relieved, even as she moves away from him to slump against the nearest tree.

"What the hell happened?" He asks, worry palpable in his voice. Emma shakes her head, trying to process the images. Regina was trapped in the fairy forest? She squeezes her eyes shut trying to recall the name of the fairy she was speaking to.

The name comes to her in seconds and she has to roll her eyes at herself because, _of course Tinkerbell was here in Neverland._ Duh.

"Emma?" Neal questions and she jerks her head towards him, noting the lines of apprehension on his face.

"I'm fine." She says groggily. "Just..." She clutches her forehead where her magic was drumming and she closes her eyes, inhaling a sharp breath. Regina was trapped with the fairies, trying to trigger her magic but she was still blocked. Something strange was going on in that forest and Emma was going to get to the bottom of it. 

Her eyes find the path to the forest at the bottom of the cliff and her hand presses to the hilt of her sword, knowing that what she was about to do was likely ten times reckless and twenty times stupid.

"You're going into that forest, aren't you." Neal says, a smile spreading across his lips. Emma shakes her head, rolling her eyes as she involuntarily smiles back. He knew her, regrettably. And she knew that he wouldn't try to stop her. "Take this." He says and Emma's eyes widen when he takes off the emblem and places it in her palm. The tiny sun glows and warms in her hand when Emma touches it, making Neal's smile brighter. "It's been calling out to you anyway."

Emma's eyes find his. "What do you mean?"

"That's how I really found you in that forest." Neal admits, jerking his head at the emblem. "That thing responds to magic and yours felt like the sun...warm and safe." He admits. Emma frowns, unable to understand just how that thing was sensing her magic. Was her magic really that light? "So even though you thought I wasn't real, at the time I could tell that you wouldn't harm me."

"Thank you." Emma says, slipping it around her neck. The emblem glows and Emma feels the heat of it in her magic, swooping down to her toes and warming her within. It burns against her skin like harsh sunlight that mellows into a calming caress that makes Emma's breath catch. She grabs hold of it, marveling at the energy travelling within her body just from the contact.

"I'm going with you." Neal says decisively. "I'm not letting you enter that forest alone."

* * *

The forest is eerily calm when they both step back in.

The shadows lingering in the darkness scatter as they walk by and Emma's magic sings in her veins, ready to spring to her aid at a moment's notice. She conjures a few flashlights for them and two light magic revolvers, feeling more at ease when they materialize instantly. It's odd, having her magic readily obeying like this and she glances down at the emblem and feels the tendrils of the ancient magic clinging to her skin.

"Why does Pan want Henry?" Neal asks in a whisper and Emma's reminded that he, like Hook, was once under Pan's control. Her eyes meet his and she decides that he should know the whole story. She tells them what Hook told them and Neal's eyes widen.

"He can't become a lost boy, Emma." He says, voice wavering with the force of his reply. "We have to get to him, as soon as possible."

"We've tried." Emma admits, retelling the story of the glowing map. "Every time we get close, he's not there, like Pan and his boys are messing with us."

"We'll use the emblems." Neal suggests, nudging at the glowing emblem around her neck. "Hook has one, and now you do. If we manage to find all three then we can destroy Pan for good."

Emma pauses. "I thought that the other emblems were lost." She frowns. "Hook made it sound like -"

"Wendy may have given him his, but mine appeared right when I needed it." Neal says, eyes scanning the treeline as they move past a knot of damaged trees illuminated by the glow from their lights. "I was able to escape the island first."

"Okay wait hold up." Emma stops, fingers grasping at the emblem around her neck. "What's the deal with these things anyway? Besides being able to destroy Pan."

"They respond to true hearts, hearts filled with hope and belief." Neal replies, holding his revolver closer as they make a sharp right at a strange fork in the road. Emma balks at his explanation, fingers tightening at the emblem on her chest.

"The heart of the truest believer." She says and Neal nods gravely.

"Not many can say they've had the privilege of wearing one of these things."

Emma shoves him, rolling her eyes but her reply is cut short when something with incredible speed darts across the trees. They both click their flashlights off, pressing tightly behind a tree where the fast flying blurb darts across once more.

Emma nods at Neal and he hurriedly over towards the other side, pointing his revolver up at the trees.

It flies by again, this time almost grazing the top of Emma's head and they both open fire, bullets made of white light darting across the trees and zinging through the dense leaves. The blurb is fast, faster than both of them can react and Neal is hit with an attack that sends him sprawling across the forest floor. 

"Neal!" Emma cries and her magic rises like a shield, anticipating a quick attack from above. 

She dodges it, magic dancing at her fingertips and whipping into the air, grabbing a hold of the tiny creature and wrestling it to the ground. A hiss of bells go up around them and Neal's eyes widen as he scrabbles to his feet and begins shooting at a small tunnel of gold light opening at the far edge of the forest.

The creature escapes Emma's hold in seconds and a rush of poppy dust bursts across Emma's face a second later, instantly dropping her to her knees. Neal goes down a few feet away from her and Emma's unable to stop her heavy eyes from fluttering shut.

* * *

Emma hits the ground with an audible _ thump _ causing a bout of pain to instantly radiate up her back. She grimaces but isn't allowed to regain her bearings before she's being harshly dragged up by the scruff of her muddied tunic.

She blinks owlishly, eyes slowly adjusting to the alarming brightness of the forest and the trees around her as the slender face of a woman comes into focus. The stranger was dressed in a purple leafy material that covered her body like a jumpsuit. It glitters in a strange manner as it catches the light from above, giving it a sort of grassy appearance. 

Emma frowns, eyes meeting the silent woman's as she easily drags her to her feet with a strength that Emma envies. Her eyes widen, the woman's eyes a piercing shade of violet that makes her heart quicken as her elven features harden, all hints of curiosity gone.

“Whoa, what the actual hell?” Emma mutters, the cool tip of a sword pressed uncomfortably to her neck, almost breaking flesh.

The woman's eyes narrow, head cocked to one side and the words that leave her lips sound ancient and exotic, the strange syllables of it chiming like bells as they curl whimsically in the air.

It's almost like music to Emma's ears the way she speaks, frustrating making the words harsh as she roughly shakes Emma by the scruff of her tunic.

Emma shakes her head. “I dunno what you're saying.” 

The woman frowns, but she doesn't move her sword away. Emma swallows thickly, the magic humming at her fingers all but gone along with the emblem that was no longer around her neck. And no Neal. Before she knows what's happening, the rest of the forest blurs and stretches around her like a bright green tunnel and soon she's stumbling into a long hedge of strange colourful flowers at the edge of the treeline.

"_Hey_ what the -" 

Emma's pushed, and she goes tumbling across the strange hedge, landing in a heap where she's jostled up once more into the unfriendly face of a burly male guard. He wore the same leaf material clothing this time in deep green fashioned into a uniform. He also doesn't try to speak to her. Instead, Emma's bound and gagged and carried along the rest of the deserted dirt-road between unfairly beautiful trees that don't look like they belong this far within the creepy forest.

She grumbles, squirming against his hold, her years of getting herself into sticky situations through her bails-bonding experience cycling in her mind as she hooks her bounded arms around his head and rears back, bashing her forehead against his with as much force as she can. The guard stops short to glare at her, the headbutt only serving to make Emma feel even fainter in his arms as he spits something cruel in that same exotic language and slings her like a rag doll across one broad shoulder.

He carries her down a hill between even closer trees and she blinks against the harsh glare of the sun when he passes through a tunnel and into a wooden building. The area inside is dusty, sawdust and wood shavings piled almost high to the ceiling in large heaps. It's also packed with workers wearing the same green clothes who greet him in their strange language, pausing only when they notice Emma. 

All eyes in the room land on her and Emma frowns, taking in their similar leafy clothes on both the men and women in the room. The room contained huge wooden tables before them containing an assortment of things also made from wood. Emma could barely make sense of any of them as she's carried through a series of other rooms before the guard exits the building and crosses a huge glittering square surrounded on the outskirts by a thriving marketplace where more of the strange people stop what they're doing to stare at her.

A murmur of tinkering whispers arise from the strange elven folks scattered across the square and it fills Emma with dread when they all begin to follow.

Emma bristles at the attention but it doesn't last long as she's dragged into another building, this one a lavish styled hut made from thick walls of straw. She's thrown unceremoniously onto the floor and her restrictions removed as the burly fairy bows and exits the room.

Left alone for a minute, Emma rubs at the redden skin of her wrists, eyes taking in the large room. It looked bigger on the inside and very sleek, a stark contrast to its modest dilapidated look on the outside. Marble adorns every surface, from the walls, to the floor to the high ceiling and the only thing really standing before her were two empty thrones. They were pure white with golden trimming, having been shaped to complement each other as they sparkled with a strange light more than anything else in the room.

Emma's hands immediately drop to her sides, patting herself down for her magical revolver but realizing that it was probably left somewhere back in that forest. She curses beneath her breath, thoughts going to Neal, wondering if he got himself out of there.

The fairy from earlier enters through the doors Emma was carried through and Emma's heart quickens, as her eyes dart towards every possible exit. They were already guarded by a fair number of burly elven guards so she stays put, hoping that they won't knock her out again. The woman approaches with sure long steps and Emma moves back on instinct when she gets within range.

She addresses Emma in her native tongue, gesturing towards a curious looking purple powder in her hands. Emma frowns, not knowing what she was supposed to do and the strange woman rolls her eyes and blows it across from her palm and into Emma's face.

Emma coughs, lungs saturated with the sweet smelling dust as she chokes, eyes tearing up a little. "Fucking _hell_." She gasps, inhaling a sharp breath that burns as the air goes down her throat. "What the fuck did you put in that thing?"

"Nothing that could manage to make you look any less dignified." The woman bites back sharply and Emma takes a shaky step back as she locks eyes with angry violet, wondering if she'd just hallucinated that response.

"Did you -"

"Yes, you can finally understand me." She says stiffly, turning on her heels and walking towards the throne. Her leaf-like dress catches the light from the sun through the windows, making her look somewhat regal as she pauses at the side of the throne, folding her arms.

A smaller blonde fairy enters from the doors in the far corner of the room and the woman at the throne instantly falls to a knee, a single arm across her chest as she bows lowly. Emma was instantly confused. The shorter fairy wore the same exact green material like the guards and the people except this time, hers had cuff sleeves and was shaped like a regal battle dress. There was a seriousness to her soft elven face and her eerily green eyes that proved she had a very important role. She held a graceful poise in her steps that screamed that she was in charge and that Emma was about to be judged.

"My Princess." The woman with the violet irises addresses the shorter fairy and the lines of seriousness across her face soften just a bit.

"Vidia." The woman addresses the guard, placing a gentle hand upon her shoulder. "You don't have to do this every single time we come into this room."

"On the contrary," Vidia says, rising as the blonde fairy takes a stand next to her. "I must."

"Who is this?" The princess asks and Emma's thoughts whir, wondering where she's seen her before. "Her clothing is certainly...odd."

Emma bristles at the judging tone, glancing briefly down at her muddied tunic and leather pants. _Her_ clothes was odd? She scoffs._They_ were the odd ones! Not to mention that they practically had some sort of cult going on in the middle of the damn dark forest.

"I caught her lurking in the dark forest, your majesty." Vidia announces gruffly. "She was working with a _shadow_."

"A shadow." The princess repeats, green eyes widening in disbelief. 

"That's a lie!" Emma hisses. "Neal isn't a shadow, he's my-" She stops abruptly, failing to classify just what he was to her. "Friend."

"You will address our princess in the proper manner!" Vidia hisses, violet eyes aglow. Emma bristles, the magic in her veins rising and falling but unable to come to the surface as she glares at the woman. The blonde fairy presses a hand to Vidia's and she immediately stands down. 

"Tell us, Mainlander." The princess says curtly, green eyes peering curiously at Emma. "Why are you really here and how did you manage to get a hold of one of our emblems?"

"I don't have time for this." Emma rushes out, panic now setting in. They were wasting valuable time that she could spend looking for Regina or her son! How the hell was she even going to get out of that damn forest? It looked so much bigger than it did on the outside. "You don't understand. We came here because I need to find my son and Regina and-"

"Regina?" The princess repeats, eyes steely as she inquires about the name and recognition dawns in Emma's eyes, recalling the brief moment she'd seen between Regina and the blonde fairy. "How do you know her?"

"No freaking way, _you're_ Tinkerbell?" The two standing on the royal dais stiffen at the use of the fairy's name and Emma snorts, taking in the reaction on their faces. “You're all fairies, _of course_. Don’t tell me this place is actually called _Pixie Hollow_, right?” She jokes, recalling the name when she'd felt nostalgic about her favorite fairy from the Peter Pan movies and googled her a few years back. The fairy had gotten quite a few movies of her own too.

Vidia is on her in a second and Emma sucks in a sharp breath when she finds herself face to eye with a pointy spear. How the hell did she even move that fast?! And where had that spear come from? Emma had barely even seen her move let alone cross the distance between them!

“How do you know the name of our coven?” Vidia hisses, anger thundering in her eyes as Emma breathes in a shaky breath.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. What’s next? Personally delivering me to Peter Pan?”

Vidia backs up shakily at the mention of that name and Emma freezes as a host of other fairies pour into the room, dragging the bruised form of Neal across the immaculate marble floor. Emma's heart quickens, anger in her eyes as they carelessly toss him at the feet of the dais.

“Hey! WHAT’S GOING ON? HE’S WITH ME!” She yells and all of the fairies immediately go silent.

Neal groans, cuts and bruises littering his face and Emma races towards his side where she's restricted by a host of angry fairies holding pointy spears.

“He’s one of Pan’s minions," The burly guard from before informs. "The shadow attached to him was ripped off when we entered the gates of our coven. It's weakened him, but he won't die."

“Emma, I can explain.” Neal wheezes out but that's as much as he can say before he’s being knocked out by the strange dust right before Emma's eyes.

"You didn't even let him explain!" Emma addresses the fairy guard, anxiety curdling low in her stomach. She turns to their princess, standing stock still standing on the dais as the scene unfolds. "What are you going to do with him? He deserves a trail or _something_!"

“He has given away our location.” Tinkerbell says sternly, voice frosty with reproach. "And _you_ had an ancient fairy artifact that's been missing from our coven for many moons."

Emma swallows thickly, suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of judging eyes glaring at her in the room. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that because of him, it's highly likely that Pan now knows our _exact_ location. I'm afraid that it won't be long before he hits us with everything he’s got." Every fairy in the room tenses at the news and Emma's on high alert as those unfriendly eyes meet hers with reproach. "I can't let either of you leave.”

Emma’s fists clench at her sides in an effort not to clock the nearest fairy guard in the jaw. Her emotions were a wreck. Did Neal honestly look her in the face and lie to her? To all of them in the camp? Was her lie detecting superpower suddenly useless on this stupid island? And her magic, she breathes out shakily, detecting just a tiny trickle that absolutely devastates her.

"Regina is here as well, Mainlander." Tinkerbell confirms and those uncomfortable knots in Emma's stomach loosen just slightly at the words. "You sound like you know her."

“I do." Emma nods, hope daring to blossom in her chest. "Please just...let me see her.” Emma requests and Tinkerbell complies under the condition that she be escorted there and monitored.

* * *

Emma's hands are bound again as she's led out of the building and across the square with two fairy guards on either side. They garner the attention of various fairies from the huts lining the large sprawling village as they pass by. Emma holds her head high, eyes sweeping over the crowd of onlookers as she desperately searches for Regina. She glances back for a moment, eyes widening when the large crowd starts following them. There were fairies old and young, curious eyes following Emma's every movement, chattering in soft tinkles about her clothes and her hair and her strange way of walking and talking. She feels more scrutinized than she has in her entire life and she vividly recalls the horrors of high school.

They move deeper into the village, the sun shining brilliantly above making Emma miss the emblem they'd taken from her as her thoughts go back to Neal. She wonders where they'd taken him and what they were going to do with him. Hell, she didn't even know what they were going to do with _her_. Emma's eyes continue their desperate search until she catches sight of a figure high above them in a tree to her right. A woman with long dark hair hanging upon her slender shoulders stands silently upon an oddly curved tree branch that connected it to another much more massive tree. She held a long spear in her right hand while the other skimmed the bark of the tree as she leaped down to a lower branch.

Their eyes meet from that distance and that magic Emma could barely feel in her body _surges_, warm and vibrant against her skin. In this moment, she could probably successfully manage to escape in a puff of magical smoke if she wanted to because she knows for a fact that she's finally found _Regina_.

Regina was perched atop a tree! A damn tree for _fuck's_ sake, wearing tan leather trousers and matching knee length boots. Upon seeing Emma she immediately hops off of the last curved branch, landing on her haunches in an unsteady sweep that helped along by the equally olive skinned woman at her side with unsettling tenderness.

All around them the tinkering murmurs finally stop as if the fairies were all holding in a collective breath. Regina’s eyes sweep over Emma like a heated caress and Emma’s cheeks visibly darken as she tries (and fails) to control the intense internal reaction her body seemed to be having at the other woman's approach.

“Regina.” The name leaves her lips in a husky breath of air with all the grace of a teenage boy admiring his crush. Clearing her throat at the deep tenor it produced around the name, Emma takes a step forward as if drawn towards the woman.

The tunic she wore was a plain black fashioned from the same leafy material everyone here wore. It was also a size too large, hanging loosely on her small frame but somehow looking equally regal as she strides towards Emma. She looked tinier somehow, timid even, something that unsettles the Savior at that aching disbelieving look in her eyes as she approaches.

“Emma?” The Savior was unprepared for the way her name caught in Regina's throat but she's glad for it all the same when the weapon Regina was carrying in hand was lowered and eventually carelessly dropped to the ground. Dark eyes sweep over her again and Emma begins to fidget, uncomfortable at just how intently they were being studied by everyone present. Regina’s eyes flickers over the crowd momentarily, a tight pull marring the corner of full lips and she turns as the crowd automatically parts for their Fairy Princess.

"Can I have a moment with her before you take her to the council?" Regina requests and something unspoken passes between her and Tinkerbell as she's instantly granted her request.

Emma gets to follow Regina minus the hulking fairy guards while Vidia reprimands everyone for leaving their assigned posts, causing them to disperse in a hurry, leaving the square empty apart from some stragglers.

* * *

The walk to Regina's place is silent as they move across the dirt path curving sharply to the right containing a host of similar yet smaller oddly shaped houses perched high on either side of the road. Emma's marvels at the structures, briefly wondering why she hadn't seen any fairy flying besides that rude guard with the violet eyes. Vines with rows upon rows of sweet smelling flowers in every brilliant color of the rainbow wrapped stylishly along the trunks of some trees. Some even connect tree to tree, fluttering when the wind whistles through them as they dance merrily. It gives the place an airy feel, a change Emma welcomes on this strange island that feels so heavy with unusable magic.

The place Regina enters is literally the base of a hollowed out tree. It's massive and Emma balks at the width of the trunk before her gaze moves upwards to gauge the height of that monstrosity. It wasn't exactly alone. Several trees with equally wide trunks and height had risen along side it and they too were connected by bridges and ropes on different levels with other houses and _now_ Emma understands the reason for the tree climbing.

Slipping inside, the space revealed is fairly roomy. There's a bookshelf in the far corner covered with books in all colors of the rainbow and a small cupboard containing little knick knacks lining a wall. A bed in the shape of a literal Violet flower is mounted to the left and Emma marvels at the way the petals curl into each other to form what had to be the softest layers of any bed.

When she finally realizes that Regina has stopped in the middle of the room, Emma frowns. Regina's back is towards her, tension in her spine as she wrings her fingers so tightly together Emma was afraid that they would fall off. 

"Regina." Emma calls, daring to quietly approach as Regina's head jerks to the side, finally acknowledging Emma's presence. She turns, eyes glassy as she regards Emma and Emma sighs, wanting to broach the final distance between them and pull Regina into her arms and never let her go. Regina's hands find hers, soft against the Savior's skin as she disentangles the thick rope they'd used to bind her hands together. Emma smiles, grateful as she rubs at the lines of red marring her pale skin and Regina finally addresses her.

"You really took your time getting here."

Emma's eyes widen as they meet those flinty dark ones and she shakes her head, intent on making her fully understand. "Regina, I know it's been five days but I promise I -"

"_Five_ days?" Regina blinks, outrage in her voice as she jabs Emma painfully in the chest. Emma winces. "Don’t play games with me, Swan. I have been stuck here for almost _five weeks_!"

Emma freezes, a chuckle bubbling up in her throat. This had to be some sort of _joke_...right? But Regina remains serious, those lines of exhaustion on her face and the palpable pain in her dark eyes making Emma's heart ache more than words could describe.

"That's _impossible_." Emma huffs, breaking the strained silence. "We've only been apart for _five_ days. I slept through three of them because my parents couldn't find the antidote for the poppy dust that fairy hit us with. I tried rallying the troops right after I woke up to come get you." 

Regina chuckles mirthlessly, shaking her head. “Do you take me for a fool, Miss Swan?” Emma didn’t like the tone the woman was taking with her, nor the condescending manner in which her name was said. "I've kept track of _every_ _single_ _day_ I've been trapped here. You don't know how..." Regina trails off then, running frustrated fingers into loosely braided raven hair. "My magic has been scarily _dormant_ ever since I stepped into that godforsaken forest. They told me the shadow took you _away_! Emma," Regina says breathlessly. "I thought you were _dead."_

Emma takes a step forward, hands outstretched like Regina was a wild mare she was wary of scaring. Regina's eyes follow her action and Emma's afraid that she'll hit her again but she braves the distance.

“Well I’m not, I’m _here_.” Emma says softly, reassuringly. She delicately pressing her hands to Regina's shoulders, feeling the knots of tension in them as they stare at each other from the short distance away. Magic warms the palms of Emma's hands and she almost wants to sob with relief at the way they curl together so tightly that she was afraid to let go of Regina lest this all be a dream.

Dark eyes hold Emma's searchingly as Emma's hands drift slowly down Regina's forearms, stirring more of those wisps of magic beneath their skin and affirming the other's presence in such a visceral way. They drift over Regina's elbows, across Regina's forearms, over her wrists and finally towards her fingers. A slight tremor makes Regina's hands tremble against Emma's as Emma clasps them protectively between her own, bringing them towards her chest and pressing Regina's hands above her rapidly beating heart.

"I'm here, Regina." She says softly and Regina inhales slowly, eyes meeting Emma's.

"I couldn't sense you or your magic. I couldn't summon Henry's jacket, or attempt another spell to find him. I couldn't..." The former queen chokes on a ragged sob, shaking her head. Gritting her teeth to stall her crying, she defiantly continues even as her voice wavers. "I was worried _ sick_, all while you were off doing gods knows what! Probably tromping through the trees with that filthy pirate and your oaf of an ex."

Emma's slightly taken aback by the outburst as Regina takes a step back, ripping her hands away from Emma's careful hold. She moves to turn away but Emma doesn't let her get far. She grabs one of Regina's hands to stop her, taking a step that brings her impossibly closer to the angry trembling woman. Emma cups her cheek with both hands, thumbs delicately stroking her beautiful face and stopping a few tears in their tracks. Regina freezes, not daring to breathe as dark green eyes stare intently at her. 

"The minute I woke up I was trying to find a way to get you out of here. Even if it meant I'd get trapped in here too." Emma explains in a whisper. Regina's eyes ensnare hers for a minute, quietly assessing the sincerity of those words before the anger returns to them like a raging storm Emma feels first in the surge of their magic.

"I'm not some damsel in distress, I don't need your charming words or your protection!" Regina hisses and Emma decides to try another tactic.

“You think I’m _charming_?” She asks teasingly, focusing on the easier part of that admission as she allows a cocky smile to tug at the corner of her lips. Regina's eyes harden and Emma's smile fades as she lets all of the fear and longing she's felt pulse through that connection between them. It reforms with an intensity that almost makes Emma's breath catch and her heart flutters.

"I'm very aware that you're no damsel. You're more like a giant _pain_ in the ass." She muses, running a thumb along the bow of Regina's lips at the appearance of the faintest smile.

"_I'm_ a pain?" Regina asks incredulously, eyes glittering as some of that tension in her body fades. Her hands find their way to Emma's sides, roughly bunching up the fabric as she replies. "_You're_ an _idiot_."

"Arrogant." Emma shakes her head fondly, eyes falling to Regina's lips as the magic she's missed so intrinsically blooms warmly against her chest.

"Liability." Regina breathes against her mouth, and Emma's heart flutters as she leans in a fraction, drawn into Regina's allure.

"Bossy Mayor." She replies, a hand gliding to the nape of Regina's neck where the presence of more magic rushes against her fingertips.

"Dumb Sheriff." Regina murmurs but its soft, fond and careless and Emma's pulled the rest of the way into a hot open-mouthed kiss that very well knocks the breath out of her lungs. She inhales sharply and Regina drags her impossibly closer as their kisses morph into a slow burning one that drags a careless whimper from Emma's mouth.

Emma’s fingers tangle in Regina's hair, hair that really was a bit longer now? She groans, tugging on those longer strands of dark hair and anchoring Regina’s mouth to her own, kissing her deeply like she didn’t want oxygen again. If she didn't believe that time was wonky on this damn island, she certainly believed it now. Regina responds in kind, roughly shoving Emma’s back against the wall, molding their chests together as she kisses Emma like her life depends on it.

“If this how we’re going to solve our arguments from now on, I’m not complaining.” Emma manages to get out as Regina's impassioned kisses move across her jaw and down towards her neck. Her reply is a sharp nip to Emma's neck, one she soothes with a warm gentle tongue as Emma's entire body shivers.

A sharp knock against the door to their hut breaks the spell bounding them together and a timid fairy voice announces that the Fairy Princess was awaiting their prisoner.

Regina's kisses are gentle as she moves them back to Emma's cheek and Emma pulls her into another long kiss before wrapping her arms around her waist in a fierce protective hug. Somewhere at the back of her mind she registers that this might actually be their first hug and she squeezes her eyes shut as she presses her face to the juncture between Regina's neck and shoulder, wanting to make the moment last. 

Regina melts into her embrace, hands curling around Emma's shoulders and Emma loses herself in the warm pine scent clinging to her skin. They fit together so well, almost like they were made for each other and Emma misses Regina's cool skin when they part and head for the door.

* * *

Emma's led back into the same room she'd been taken prisoner just minutes ago but this time, with Regina at her side, she isn't as anxious. The room looks the same except for the presence of a round table fashioned from marble with intricate spiraling patterns that was now sitting in the middle. Tinkerbell and the other five clan leaders of her colourful fairy council were sat around it, chattering among themselves and Emma realizes belatedly that the meeting to discuss her fate had already begun.

Her eyes widen when recognizes some of the members from the few Tinkerbell movies she'd binged watched on her birthday a few years back when she was drunk and weepy and in the throes of nostalgia. She doesn't quite remember the plot of the movies but she now recognizes Vidia, who had been Tinkerbell's sworn rival. The stoic fairy sits on the fairy princess's right side with folded arms and a stony expression on her face. Emma wonders at the strange dynamics between them here as they converse with the other fairies, a seriousness to their conversation that makes her uneasy.

The chattering dies down to a low whisper when Emma and Regina approach and Tinkerbell rises from her seat.

"Welcome." She says, voice light and airy and Emma's a bit nervous at having this human form of her all time favorite fairy throw her in a dungeon or do whatever it is they were about to do. "We would have waited but I fear that the transgressions against your friend are too dire to be ignored. It was imperative that we make a decision."

"What has she done?" Regina asks, eyes meeting Emma's as a fairy worker pulls out a chair for her. Regina takes a seat, joining the six fairies around the table and Emma falls back, clearly uninvited.

"She entered the outskirts of our hollow with a _shadow_ she calls a friend." At the mention of Neal, a wave of disapproval rises up among the fairies around the table. Emma bristles at their disapproving looks as she moves to stand beside Regina, returning their glares two fold. "And she also had _this_." Tinkerbell says, holding the solar emblem in her palm.

Emma's magic pulses, drawn towards the thing like a lightning rod and the emblem glows an iridescent white, causing a few gasps among the council members. Regina's eyes meet hers, having felt the waves of the connection and Emma sighs. "Long story."

"Is that -" A dark skinned fairy dressed in the yellow leafy material fashioned into a lengthy flowing sun dress starts. "...light magic?" She finishes, awe in her tone when Tinkerbell places the emblem upon the table. "I can feel it."

"It's the solar emblem." Tinkerbell explains, eyes settling upon each fairy member of her council. "It was lost decades ago when I was just a child and Pan attacked and murdered hundreds of our people." 

A somber mood descends upon the group at the table as they all stare at the emblem and Emma's a little taken aback at the brief history lesson. How old were these fairies? Each one of them looked like they were barely twenty at the most.

"How did you manage to acquire such a pertinent piece of our history, _Mainlander_?" Vidia asks, violet eyes trained on Emma making her fidget.

"Neal only gave the thing to me a few hours ago." She admits, shrugging her shoulders. "He said that it was responding to my magic."

"You have magic?" Another fairy asks curiously, brown eyes alight with intrigue. She wore a simple brown tunic and similar brown trousers with knee length boots, looking like the most normal one on the entire council. "Can you demonstrate for us?"

"I don't think that's a good idea, Fawn." Vidia interjects, cutting Emma a fierce glare. "This Mainlander can't be trusted."

"Watch it, guard dog." Regina says coolly, folding her arms as Vidia bristles at the nickname. "You're judging before hearing all the facts."

"You would say that since you're obviously close to her." Vidia says curtly. "Hell, I barely even trust _you_."

"I trust her." Fawn frowns and Vidia shakes her head.

"Did you know that your friend had that shadow attached to him?" A fairy with piercing blue eyes and a long flowing blue dress rises to ask Emma.

"No." Emma answers immediately, thoughts going back to her meeting with Neal as she locks eyes with unnerving blue. "I wasn't aware."

There's a beat of silence between them where the blue eyed fairy just stares at Emma. It's creepy the way she observes her, but eventually she nods and takes her seat, addressing Tinkerbell when she speaks.

"She isn't lying, princess." The fairy says and Vidia slams a fist against the marble table, garnering everyone's immediate attention.

"I say she's in cahoots with that shadow." Vidia spits, eyes narrowing at Emma. "They're way too friendly."

"They may have a history that was more than she's letting on but she's telling us the truth, Vidia." The fairy says and Vidia huffs.

"Silvermist, I know you mean well but some day you could be wrong."

"Except for the fact that I'm always right." Silvermist answers pointedly and Vidia scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"I can vouch for Emma." Regina cuts in as her eyes meet Tinkerbell's. "She's the one I entered the forest with when you thought we were trespassing. She my son's birth mother and the Savior who broke my dark curse."

Tinkerbell's eyes widen like she's heard _all_ about that. 

"_S__he's_ the one?" She asks incredulously and Regina nods as a smile blooms across Tinkerbell's face. She looks at Emma, _really_ looks at her, like she was assessing an art piece at an auction and Emma wants to disappear right into the marble floor.

"The Savior?" Silvermist echoes, calculating eyes further unnerving Emma. "Then it's obviously some sort of sign that you're here with us."

"Very well, Mainlander." Tinkerbell addresses Emma, indicating the seat now being added to Regina's side at the table as a worker fairy bows lowly and turns to leave. "You have been pardoned."

"Thank you." Regina says gratefully and the fairy princess nods, a mischievous smile curling at her lips as Regina rolls her eyes. Emma frowns at the ease of familiarity that passes between them. Had Regina truly gotten this close to the princess within a few weeks in fairy time? Or was there something here that she was missing? 

"There is the issue of the shadow." Silvermist says thoughtfully, worried blue eyes finding Tinkerbell's. Emma finally takes the seat closer to Regina, thoughts arcing back to Neal and his second betrayal. She sighs heavily. "What are we going to do with him?"

"I say toss him in the dungeons." Vidia shrugs, folding her arms decisively. "Problem solved."

"He's being guarded in one of the huts on the outskirts of the village." Tinkerbell informs them. "It'll be a while before he's healed from his wounds. We'll interrogate him some more when he wakes up."

"Since I'm basically a free woman can Regina and I...um, leave?" Emma interjects and the rest of the room goes silent.

"Tactless as always, Swan." Regina shakes her head and Emma shrugs.

"Not to be _that_ person but we have an extremely important mission to complete."

"Because of your _friend_ entering our coven, Pan now knows our _exact_ location within the dark forest." Vidia stresses, violet eyes glinting dangerously as she stands and presses her palms to the cool surface of the table. "We'd be fools to let you leave now."

"Look, I'm really sorry about the way we got in, but you can't hold us here against our will." Emma rises from her seat too, matching Vidia glare for glare. "We're _not_ staying." She says curtly, voice bordering on angry. Regina places a hand upon Emma's and the outrage burbling within Emma's chest subsides as a soothing sensation washes over her. Her eyes meet Regina's and she returns to her seat as if drawn towards it.

"What just happened?" The dark skinned fairy asks, yellow eyes bouncing between the pair. "I thought you were just about ready to attack Vidia and now you're all..." She frowns, eyeing Emma curiously. "...calm."

"It's..." Emma starts, face warming as she meets Regina's smirk. "Complicated."

"Getting back to the point at hand, Iridessa." Vidia interjects, staring pointedly at the yellow fairy. "We can't let them leave."

"Why the hell not?" Emma asks, arms folded tightly across her chest.

"The forest is now swarming with shadows looking for you and your shadow friend." A fairy with pink irises speaks up gravely. "We barely got our portal closed when he smuggled his way in." 

"You don't understand." Emma says gruffly. "My parents are out there! I left them to come get Regina so that we can find our son. They don't have magic like Regina and I do."

"Wait, you share a son?" Iridessa interrupts again, yellow eyes aglow and a blinding smile lighting up her face as she looks excitedly between the pair. "Are you a couple?"

"W-We.." Emma stammers, unsure of exactly how to approach the question. Were they a couple? She looks to Regina who was now studiously studying her lap and something strange curls in Emma's stomach.

"The point is, we open that portal to the forest for you and no more Pixie Hollow." The pink eyed fairy cuts in again and the fairies around the table all fall silent.

"Rosetta is right." Silvermist says apologetically. "Our defenses are too low to stop the shadows from swarming into the cove if we open the portal for you to the forest. It could put our entire coven in danger."

"But _her_ magic is powerful." Iridessa announces, yellow eyes gleaming as they regard Emma. "And it's very much compatible with the magic I'm sensing from Regina."

"I feel it too." Tinkerbell admits, eyes drawn across the way to Regina's. "You've never mentioned the force of the power you two possess. It's practically flowing from you."

"How powerful are we talking?" Fawn asks, curiosity burning in her brown eyes.

"Her power comes from the true love shared between her parents." Regina cuts in, eyes meeting Emma's. "It's the most powerful magic in the world."

"A child made from true love?" Silvermist whispers and Emma wants to shrink even more into her chair as they begin chattering excitedly about her magic. Magic that Emma can't quite control without Regina as a buffer. "So that's what's been cloaking you. The princess is right, it flows from you but..." Her eyes find Regina's. "The same magical signature is also flowing from _you_."

"Maybe it's because I've been teaching her magic." Regina replies. "It's been a difficult process."

"Hey!" Emma frowns, lower lip jutting out in protest. "I've been trying my best. You said that learning magic is difficult here."

"Difficult, not impossible."

"Emma's just like the solar emblem." Iridessa marvels, eyes alight with wonder. "I can feel it calling to her."

Tinkerbell frowns, eyes floating towards the shining emblem. "The emblem connected with you?" She shakes her head. "That hasn't happened in...well.." Her eyes cut to Regina.

"Since the lunar emblem connected with me all those years ago." Regina says and Tinkerbell nods.

"Wait _wait_, hold up..." Emma interjects, turning wide eyes towards Regina. "You've been here before?"

"I met Tinkerbell when I was younger but I couldn't recall anything of the sort until _this_ appeared around my neck when we crashed onto the island." Regina says, lifting a trinket hanging loosely around her neck. It was a slender black piece of moon rock shaped like a crescent moon and it glows an eerie purple when Regina touches. She gasps, watching in awe as it lights up the purple paths of magic in the veins of her hands. Regina closes her eyes and Emma's aware of the magic humming in the air like it was calling out to her too. "It hasn't done that since the last time I was here, right?" Regina asks, wonder in her eyes as they find Tinkerbell's, reminiscing about a meeting Emma was still so very confused about.

Tinkerbell nods, an awed look on her face as every fairy in the room glances down at Regina's lunar emblem.

"How could you forget coming to _Neverland_?" Emma stresses, worry palpable in her voice.

Regina's jaw tenses as she gives her reply. "I don't know for sure but I do know that somehow Mother was involved."

Emma recalls the memories of a young scared Regina and the wrath of Cora. She grasps one of Regina's hands, pressing their palms together and interlacing their fingers. Some strings of anxiety fade away a little from their connection as Regina's eyes meet hers.

"I brought Regina here back when there were still mermaids in the cove." Tinkerbell answers, a nostalgic smile gracing her lips. "She didn't stay for long but..." Tinkerbell's expression falls. "It was reckless and we're lucky that the emblem appeared to her when it did."

Regina grows somber at Tinkerbell's words and as much as Emma wants to know more, she wants Regina to be comfortable enough to tell her.

"That's all great and all but _why us_?" Emma asks, eyeing each one of the fairies present around the table. "Why did _we _connect with these emblems?"

"There are three emblems that appear to those who need them the most, the hearts of true believers." Tinkerbell starts. "In time, they return to the tree of life which is the very source of our power and existence. But thanks to Pan and his shadows, the tree exists entirely in another realm within ours."

"The Realm of Shadows." Vidia speaks up once more, voice wavering with her explanation. "It's been difficult to access any sort of magic, let alone constantly finding traces of pixum left over from the tree to open portals with refined pixie dust." She swallows hard. "We've been getting by but our stocks have dwindled so much that we can't spare much for the village fairies to fly. We keep them strictly for the fairies who safeguard the forest."

"The emblems _rarely_ connect with people since they're drawn to the light of pure powerful magic." Tinkerbell continues, sorrowful eyes finding Vidia's. "Two of them connected with Vidia's parents during the war with Pan. They were the most powerful users of fairy magic in our coven and helped us turn the tide before things went extremely awry."

"They along with Tink's parents sacrificed themselves to save us and Pixie Hollow." Vidia grits out, eyes steely as her gaze falls towards the table, a far pained look in them. Tinkerbell reaches over to Vidia, something passing between them as she softly urges her to return to her seat. Vidia complies, eyes glassy as she breathes out a sharp breath and Tinkerbell takes her hand, offering comfort.

"Now the emblems have chosen _you_ to help us." Tinkerbell says, looking between the pair. "I know that it may sound unfair but our battle is now undoubtedly one and the same. You have to rescue your son from Pan but he won't easily let him go. Especially if he plans what I suspect he does. These emblems when used correctly can help us all."

Emma swallows hard, mind whirring as she desperately tries to take in all of this new information. Her eyes find Regina's and she squeezes her hand, taking comfort in the way Regina squeezes back. 

"So now we have two emblems on our side." Rosetta says, clapping excitedly as the other fairies gaze at the emblems that had begun to glow a curious purple and white being in such close range with each other. "I can't wait to see their true power."

"We'll show you how to use those and you'll help us kill the demon." Vidia says decisively and Emma can't help but feel like they've just stumbled into a horrifying game of _Savior_ and her turn was once again about to begin.

* * *

The rest of the evening is spent discussing the layout of Pixie Hollow and the fortification of its defenses in the dark forest and before Emma knows it, its already night. They're escorted towards a larger room with long fancy tables that stretch from one side to the other where fairies of all ages were gathered together having dinner.

"Communal dining." Regina informs her when Tinkerbell and the others join their friends, no distinction between royal and common made as everyone enjoys the banquet. The stares follow them towards the table with the fairy princess and as the night wears on, they decide to turn in early.

Emma immediately slips her hand into Regina’s on the walk back, breathing out more steadily as if Regina’s touch alone was a safeguard within the whirlwind end to their day. She thinks about her parents and hopes that they're safe, hopes that they haven't left the safety of the enchantments she and Regina had placed around their camp. She thinks about Henry and the back of her eyes burn as the precarious hold on her emotions trembles within. They'd already taken so long to get to the island but now they had some back up to perform this rescue.

All they needed now was a flicker of his true location.

Regina disentangles their hands when they get back to her room, leading Emma up the stairs towards a smaller level and directing her on how to use the fairy's equivalent of a shower. She pries off her muddied clothes and jumps into the waters sprinkling down from above like a tiny rain cloud upon her skin. It's cool and refreshing and when Emma returns to the room after changing into a large flowing tunic, the candlelight illuminating it has been snuffed out.

There's moonlight slanting in through the small window from above, revealing Regina's form curled up on the flower bed and Emma's thoughts go straight back to their last night on the ship. Her face warms as she pauses a short distance away and Regina sits up, dark eyes meeting hers. There’s a strange tension lingering between them, one brought on by the eventful day and everything that had been exposed to them, but its mostly brimming with uncertainty. A part of Emma, a very pessimistic part, expects this thing they’ve newly discovered between them to be short lived and she wrestles with the depressing thoughts that curl in her mind. They come to a halt when Regina finally beckons her over by raising a side of her covers in silent invitation.

Emma moves quickly, slipping into the warmth and chuckling when Regina freezes at the touch of Emma's legs against hers. She merely shrugs and settles herself on top of the covers instead, wiggling her underwear covered butt in order to find the comfiest position.

“Afraid you can’t control yourself, _ your majesty_?” She teases in the lowest tenor of her voice, the moniker curling on her tongue. 

Regina stares at her for a bit, the intensity of her eyes making Emma's heart flutter and warming her from the inside out. But she merely raises an eyebrow and throws off her side of the covers, revealing another white negligee barely reaching halfway down her thighs.

“Damn.” Emma breathes out, eyes scorching Regina’s skin as her hands ache to touch smooth olive thighs. It draws a husky rumbling laugh from deep within Regina’s throat as she shifts up on her elbow to draw nearer towards the Sheriff. They smile at each other from the short distance between their bodies and it’s an absolutely wonderful feeling, one borne of affection and brimming with an undertone of so much _ more_.

“So, we’re both connected to strange magical fairy emblems and got caught up in a fairy war.” Emma says breezily, turning so she’s fully facing Regina.

Regina nods mutely, reaching out to work gentle fingers through Emma’s now flowing messy hair as tender dark eyes find Emma’s. “I’m sorry.” She says, after a short stretch of silence. 

Emma shakes her head. “What for?”

“For getting you caught up in this mess.” Regina replies and there’s so much despair and anguish there. Emma finally finds the courage to move over into Regina’s arms, pressing her face to the crook of Regina’s neck. “For delaying Henry's rescue by getting caught in the forest.”

"You didn't get me caught up in anything." Emma insists, throwing an arm around Regina's waist and melting in closer. "We came here for our son."

Another short beat of silence passes between them but Regina doesn't contest Emma's words. It makes her a bit giddy at the silent victory as Regina's fingers move across her sensitive skull, making her eyes flutter.

“Your parents…” Regina murmurs eventually and Emma stiffens a little in her embrace.

"Yeah." Emma breathes out sharply, fingers curling in Regina's negligee. "I hope they're okay. I’m still getting used to the idea of...seeing them as that.” She admits quietly.

Regina's fingers pause in her hair and Emma feels the wave of guilt that passes through their connection as she raises her eyes to look at Regina.

"Don't worry, we'll find them." Regina says reassuringly. She looks like she wants to say something more but she stops herself.

"How?" Emma asks shakily. "We can't leave this place."

"I'll talk to Tinkerbell, minus the council." Regina says decisively. "I just hope that the two idiots haven't left the safety of the area we've enchanted."

Emma frowns, nodding thoughtfully. "The minute they discover that I'm missing..."

"I know." Regina murmurs, pressing Emma closer. "But fairy time moves faster so maybe we'll get to them just in time."

“It’s all so crazy." Emma continues softly, fingers tracing absentminded patterns against over Regina's hip. "Mary Margaret was my _ friend_. My _ only _ friend! I told her _ everything_. About Boston, jail, my orphan life, stuff that happens at the station.” And here Emma pauses as her eyes find Regina’s. “My meetings with you and how much I care for Henry. And now I don’t have that friend anymore.” Emma grimaces at the whine in her voice, shaking her head at herself. “I feel like I lost something good. Everything just feels so _ intense _ and...overwhelming.”

Regina shifts a little, making Emma sit up so that she’s looking her in the eyes and cradling one of Emma’s hands between hers.

“If things are moving too fast, especially between us we can -” Regina starts, but Emma leans in the rest of the way, kissing her soundly on the lips and effectively cutting her off. Regina hums as Emma presses her back down onto the bed, a hand curling at Regina’s thigh and slipping with ease beneath the hem of the short negligee. Regina melts easily at her touch as Emma’s hands stroke the warm soft skin at her hips, reveling in the mounting feelings blooming between them as her magic hums beneath her fingertips. 

“I’ve wanted this.” Emma murmurs against her lips, drawing her back into another kiss and another as Regina’s hands warmly frame her face. “Ever since I laid eyes on you.”

Regina takes Emma's hand and squeezes it, the space between them electric with emotion as they meet in the middle of a needy kiss, one that affirms this connection brimming deeply within. Emma shivers at the softness of it, at the intimate way Regina explores her mouth. She presses their hips together and kisses her back like she's breathable air, like she would be lost if she wasn’t touching some part of her. 

Magic whispers against the Savior’s skin, that heady magic that defines this connection hovering between them like an eternal flame. A groan escapes her lips as Regina's mouth leaves hers and Emma tilts her chin when Regina kisses her neck, mouth parting smoothly against Emma’s skin, gentle lips brushing against that sensitive spot beneath her ear.

“Mm, Regina.” Emma moans, hooded eyes ablaze.

Regina hums, a sound that Emma feels against her skin and she melts in her embrace as Regina’s leg hooks around her waist, bringing her in close enough that their noses brush. Warm green eyes dance with affection and Regina swoops in to kiss Emma again. Emma grins, sliding her wandering hand from Regina’s hip all the way down to the leg wrapped around her, earning her a raised eyebrow and a brief nibble at her lower lip.

They trade soft unhurried kisses long into the night. Kisses that are new but also feel so familiar to them as they map the other's mouth, that hunger burning low between them as exhaustion sets in. They fall asleep nestled in each other's arms as the sounds of pixie woods outside creates a soothing bubble of calm.

* * *

News certainly travels fast in the hollow, Emma muses, as she goes from scorned prisoner to beloved magical Savior overnight. Fairies from all six clans gawk at her but this time it’s different. Admiration burns brightly in their colorful fairy irises and it makes Emma giddy with excitement when she's offered her pick of various exotic looking foods, the latest in fairy fashion, beautiful ornate weapons and her own personal escort to everything in the hollow.

She politely declines, more comfortable with asking Regina her questions compared to the gawking fairies. Instead, she indulges them with the selection of clothes, choosing a form fitting white tunic made of their strange yet strong leafy material and slender tan trousers coupled with a pair of black colored boots, making her feel more at ease in their fairy fashion. It's a welcomed bonus when she steps out of the hut and Regina's eyes blatantly travel down her body. Emma smirks, loving the warmth that rushes through her when Regina's dark eyes meet hers before they venture into the dining hall for breakfast.

The food is different yet scrumptious. Emma practically inhales a stack of something that looks like pancakes but melts with different flavorful elements in her mouth. Regina doesn't chastise her for it but Emma isn't even phased since her adoring fans seem to enjoy whatever she does. She eats like she's done back in Storybrooke, relishing that the sensitivity that once swept over her seemed long gone as she starts on another delicacy that looked like jello.

It's all fun and games until the fairies start asking about how Emma broke Regina's dark curse and how she plans on saving them. Emma's stomach clenches at the questions that come in rapid succession, staring blankly into those hopeful fairy eyes at a loss for words. The crowd around them only dwindles considerably when Regina abruptly stands and announces that she's going to show Emma around the hollow.

Emma smirks as they exit the hall, giving Regina an obnoxious look that makes the eerily calm woman raise an eyebrow.

"Did you just want to have me all to yourself? There's enough me to go around." Emma teases and Regina rolls her eyes.

"You looked like you were going to pass out." Regina shrugs, eyes focused ahead of them where the rest of pixie hollow was going about their day with their various tasks. The stares are even worse out here but Emma puts on a brave face, drawing strength from Regina as they continue on. "I had to do something."

Emma swallows hard, nodding gratefully. "Yeah uh...thanks." Silence falls between them, one where Emma's stomach clenches tighter, threatening to bring up the hearty breakfast she's just ingested. Regina grabs her hand, gentle worried eyes finding Emma's and Emma finds herself speaking her fears into the air between them.

“What if I can’t save them?” Emma swallows hard, the doubts surfacing like a tidal wave. “What if I can’t save Henry? I broke your curse by kissing him on the forehead. I highly doubt that I can do the same to Pan.”

“You're not doing this alone." Regina stresses, eyes finding Emma's. "You broke my curse with _ true love_." Regina points out, halting Emma in her tracks on the outskirts of the square. "You are _ made _ from true love." She marvels, squeezing Emma's hand in her own. "I'm just beginning to understand the intricacies of it myself."

"Great, a Savior who just goes around loving people." Emma chuckles stiffly. "That's gonna save these fairies and Henry from certain doom."

"They have a Savior made from the most powerful magic to ever exist and a former Queen familiar with the dark arts." Regina says, dropping Emma's hands to gently cup her face. "I'd say that we make quite a formidable pair, wouldn't you?"

Emma's expression falls. "Only if I knew how to control that magic."

"Then we'll resume your magical instruction." Regina nods decisively, thumbs gently sweeping across the rise of Emma's cheeks as Emma lets out a shaky breath, the hint of a smile curling at her lips. "We’ll find him, Emma. We’ll find our son, and we’ll bring him home, together.”

Her name falling _ oh so softly_, so delicately from those lips as well as hearing Regina refer to Henry as _ their _ son, '_our son'_, shocks Emma. The sentimental value of it is like a balm that threatens to lodge itself tightly within the crevices of her heart. These thoughts war with the darker ones in Emma’s head that hammer at her guilt. It was hard for her not to contest those words. There were so many factors pending against them. So many aspects of their plan had faltered and the agony of not knowing whether Henry was okay was eating at her from the inside.

Still, having Regina be the voice of hope and reassurance was a welcomed twist. Hope threatens to bloom in her chest with those dark eyes peering intently into her own and Emma finds herself trapped, helpless against their allure. She leans into Regina's touch, eyes dancing with all of the emotions blooming within her at once and Regina smiles, a beautiful careless thing that makes Emma's breath catch. 

The cacophonous sounds of excited chatter around them brings them crashing back to reality and into the prying eyes of the fairies in the square, staring at them with unabashed intrigue. Regina reluctantly drops her hands and Emma's face warms as they continue walking, trying to block out the eyes that follow them along the pathway to the square.

“Ugh, I'm tired of being gawked at.” Emma grumbles, stuffing her hands deep into the pockets of her trousers.

“Oh? Could have fooled me.” 

Emma rolls her eyes, casting her gaze around the approaching square. “How are you this calm?”

"It was much the same when I first got here." Regina explains, indicating the fairies at their windows from high above in the trees also watching them. "Until I threatened to kill someone and Vidia was assigned to stalk me around the hollow in Tinkerbell's absence."

"No way." Emma snorts, nudging Regina with her elbow. "That's an interesting match." 

“Match made in hell.” Regina grouses, but a tiny smile tugs at the edges of her lips.

“Well now I don't feel bad that she hates me.” Emma snickers and Regina grins.

“She's a skilled warrior. A little standoffish but I do understand her.” Regina admits and there's a trace of fondness in her tone that makes Emma's eyes narrow.

“So curious.” Emma replies, amusement in her eyes when Regina's questioning ones meet hers. “Is this a love-hate thing? Are you gonna leave me for a fairy?”

Regina rolls her eyes, shoving Emma's laughing form away and they both come to a stop in the middle of the square where a crowd's been gathered. They part like a wave when they take notice of Emma and Regina approaching, giving the pair a clear view of the fight.

"What's going on?" Emma asks as a chorus of cheers and jeers finally registers. Vidia is practically a blur, the three fairy guards in the middle of the square banding together to capture her but barely keeping up as she dances rings around them. Attacks come from all sides and the three fairies go down one after the other, not even lasting longer than five seconds against Vidia's skilled staff maneuvering. 

"They're sparring." Regina informs, pointing at the long line of fairy guard hopefuls standing on the sidelines. "Helps keep the guards under Vidia in top shape."

“By getting their asses kicked?” Emma asks incredulously, in awe of the brutal blow another fairy takes to the jaw as he’s wrestled to the ground.

Vidia’s movements are fluid as she sweeps her staff against the last fairy's leg, a blur of purple and black streaking across the short distance between them. He goes crashing to the ground in a heap and Vidia stands, purple eyes landing first on Regina and then to Emma as a chorus of cheers sweep across the crowd. 

“Come to cheer me on?” Vidia addresses Regina, a smug smile gracing her lips as they approach the outer lines of the ring. She helps one of the fairy guards off the dust covered ground and he bows, taking off to greet his friends on the sidelines who congratulate him for lasting longer than three seconds.

Regina raises an eyebrow, tilting her head. “Why on earth would I do that?”

Vidia smirks, shrugging a shoulder. “Just thought that even _you’d_ recognize pure talent when you see it.”

“How the hell are you able to move so fast?” Emma asks, awe in her tone. 

“Flying.” She answers smugly, eyes sweeping over the still cheering crowd as she gives a small bow. Emma frowns.

“I thought you said that fairies couldn’t fly here without their pixum or whatever.”

“She was born with her fast flying ability.” Regina answers and Vidia matches her stony gaze head on. “It's and unfair advantage but it's ingrained in her. She's not like the other fairies who need pixum’s refined pixie dust to fly."

"The only thing unfair here is you still declining my invitation to fight cause you lost the last time." Vidia smirks and Regina glares.

"So she's like...a super fairy." Emma says thoughtfully.

"Hardly." Regina answers, a little bite to her tone. "Her clan was just fortunate enough to have descended from the first fairies in charge of protecting the tree of life. Their abilities are genetic, just like each of the other clan members."

“Have I made a fan out of you, Savior?” Vidia asks, purple eyes glimmering with a teasing sort of energy.

“That's about to change.” Regina says coolly, gesturing for the other fairies to toss her a staff from the sidelines. She catches it with an unnerving sort of ease that tells of familiarity with the weapon. 

"The last time you were here you couldn't even catch that thing without stumbling. You've come a long way, Regina." Vidia says, eyes alight with mischief as she sizes Regina up.

“What are you doing?” Emma asks, eyes flitting between the pair. A dangerous smile lights Vidia’s face as Regina steps into the circle of onlookers in the middle of the square.

“I’m showing you how to take down someone’s ego.” Regina answers, twirling her new weapon as Vidia perfectly matches her movements. They both circle each other on the outer edges of the ring, searching for an opening or some area of weakness as Emma steps back a few paces, bumping into a few fairies who immediately give her space. 

They begin on the fairy’s mark, both using their unnerving agility to meet in the middle with a booming clash that goes up from their weapons colliding.

“Gotten just a bit stronger there, Regina?” Vidia taunts, increasing the pressure of her staff against Regina's. “I dare say this might actually be a fun challenge this time.”

Regina smirks, eyes flashing violet as the corner of her lips curl into a smirk. “A challenge for _ you_.”

Vidia chuckles and they break apart, circling each other like mighty predators on the prowl, analyzing the other’s movements with an unnerving amount of precision as they race towards each other again, staffs clanking with so much force that Emma half expects them to shatter on contact.

Regina’s cunning – _ fast_, almost dancing on her toes with the smooth sure way she’s blocking all of Vidia’s well timed attacks. She goes on the attack, forcing Vidia backwards as their staffs clash and the fairy is forced to go on the defense.

Her parries are good but Regina’s are better, a wide arc of her staff meant for Vidia’s head expertly diverting at the last possible second, the cool surface of the wood sliding against the side of Vidia's cheek instead.

Vidia’s eyes glint a murderous purple at the snickers that erupt around the square and she counters another attack, twirling her staff as Regina’s comes crashing down against hers and it’s then Emma feels it. Magic cloaks the air around them, _ no_, around _ Regina_. It ripples down her arms and feet and encases her staff as it crackles and pulses at her fingertips and has the staff in Regina’s hand almost bringing Vidia to her knees.

That lunar emblem on her chest is like a calling to Emma's magic, singing sweetly in her veins as Regina's magic channels through it. It's a sensation that blazes across Emma's skin and invites her magic to play along with it, like a seductive siren's call.

Vidia growls, purple irises glinting fiercely in the sunlight as she blurs by Regina in a dash, sweeping her staff in a sure arc meant to knock her to the ground. Regina reacts immediately, moving just as fast as Vidia to block the oncoming attack. A ripple of magic rushes down Regina’s arms when their staffs clash and they both grit their teeth, unnervingly matched in strength.

There’s loud cheering from the sidelines at the display and Emma joins in, cheering for Regina.

Vidia jumps to get out of the way of a full attack as Regina spins on her heel, twisting her staff in arcs that force her backwards, arms shaking with the force of the collisions and her attention diverting especially when Regina lashes out with a well-placed kick to the shin that makes Vidia stumble.

“You’re getting your ass handed to you guard fairy!” Emma yells obnoxiously and Vidia growls, using the last bouts of strength in her legs as she dodges another attack and parries, diving to slash wildly, anywhere, frustration flowing off of her in waves when Regina counters her like her attacks are well scripted.

Vidia does get her ass handed to her – badly. 

The fairy ends up winded as Regina's staff brings her to the dirt covered ground, pinning her on her back. Her staff goes clattering in a heap behind her and everyone in the square falls silent as the pair glare at each other, angry purple irises locked with Regina's purple glowing eyes.

Regina leans over her, staff pressed tightly against the fairy’s jugular and Vidia sighs, raising her arms in surrender. A chorus of cheers goes up as Regina reaches a hand down to her and Vidia eyes it for a moment before taking it and standing with as much dignity as one can when covered with dust.

“Not bad.” Vidia says, picking her staff off the ground and twirling it a few times. “For a Mainlander.”

“Is that high praise I hear?” Regina taunts. “From the fairy who never hands out praises to anyone?”

Vidia rolls her eyes, huffing dramatically as she dusts off her dirt covered trousers. “Maybe you just got lucky.” She shrugs, eyes flashing as Emma makes her way over to them.

“Or maybe Regina's just more of a badass with a staff.” Emma shrugs, eyes meeting Regina's. “That was freaking awesome.”

Regina chuckles and Vidia’s jaw clenches at the smug smile curling at her lips.

“Rematch.” She says, eyes glinting with challenge. “Get my staff back over here or maybe we should choose different weapons so I can redeem myself.”

Regina shakes her head, politely declining the offered sword as another fairy rushes to her side with nun-chucks. "Maybe some other time, I actually came to ask you a favor.”

Vidia grows serious, looking between the pair. “Is everything alright?”

“I want you to teach Emma how to defend herself."

Vidia’s eyes widen briefly at the request and she glowers as her eyes meet Emma's. "You did manage to beat me this time. Why don't you train her yourself?"

Regina smirks, eyes meeting Emma's from across the way as a fairy takes her staff away. "Because I'm going to be teaching her magic."


	7. Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: I'm still editing this ENTIRE chapter, will be updated soon!! xo pls be patient, I write too much. Trust me when I say that I'm painfully aware that it is incomplete AND I'M EDITING AS FAST AS ONE PERSON CAN WHEN THEY WRITE A MONSTER FIC *crying emoji*

There was a loud whoosh in the air and the next second Emma found herself flat on her ass, glaring up into the purple irises of Vidia.

“Your skills are dreadfully lacking, Savior.” Vidia grinned, tossing her lengthy raven hair over a shoulder in a display of superiority.

Emma just rolled her eyes, grunting as she sat up. Pain shot up the underside of her back and she immediately laid back down, groaning when Vidia gave her an unimpressed look.

“Gods, don’t tell me I’ve broken you.”

“You’ve broken me.” Emma whines. 

Vidia rolls her eyes. “What are you going to do? Make your girlfriend fight me?”

“Okay _ first _of all –”

“I would _break_ you.” Regina’s voice immediately cut in. Vidia looked up in surprise, having missed the woman’s stealthy approach.

Vidia’s eyes held a begrudging sort of intrigue as she appraised Regina's outfit. “Oh, little queenie in the mood to play?” 

Regina immediately dropped to her knees, cupping Emma’s flushed cheek.

“Are you okay?”

Emma grimaced. “Define _ okay ?"_

“Can you move?” Emma nods reluctantly, then shifts so that she's sitting up with Regina's supportive arm around her lower back. “I didn’t realize you were a hazard to your own self.”

“She tripped me!” Emma protests, shooting Vidia a scowl which turned into a grimace when Regina's hand pressed a little more forcefully against her lower back.

“Ow ow ow oh God, oh fuck, maybe I really did break something.”

Regina rolls her eyes, lifting the Savior’s tunic. Emma's skin buzzes as she traces a warm line across her spine, frowning at what she finds. “Well, it’s not terribly bruised.”

Emma whimpers when she touches it again and Vidia made a gagging sound. “I think I’ve had enough of this.”

Emma turned on her side, regarding her with soft eyes that made Regina’s heart flutter. “Do you know how many times I have laid awake at night thinking about you?” She asked softly. 

* * *

As they creep closer, Emma peeks out from behind a towering archway of bone to see an army of Lost Ones reveling in a frenzy of dancing, drinking and combat.

Pixie hollow talk about Neal

“I just keep messing this up, don't I?” Snow sniffles, casting her gaze around the clearing.

Emma shuffles over, nudging her in the side. “We're both learning how to deal with it.” Emma says, it'll take some time, but I'm willing to try if...if you are.”

“I am.” Snow says. “I want to.” eMMA ALL i’VE WAnted was to be close to you

“I've loved you since the first moment I realized I was pregnant. It's just,” snow struggles, tears glistening at the corner of her eyes. “How do you go from having your newborn wrapped protectively in your arms to…”

“To _ m _ e.”

“Emma.”

“No, I…” Emma swallows hard. “I get it.”

Snow smiles sadly. “I'm sorry...I shouldn't talk about you like you're not here.”

“But in a way...I'm not.” Emma reasons, tears now beginning to burn the backs of her eyes too. “The moment you woke up from the curse you were expecting a newborn but instead...you got me.”

“And you got us.” Snow empathizes. “An us so inexperienced in child rearing that we're just basically fumbling. We should be older, wiser. You should be able to depend on us, but instead we're the same age and you see me -.”

“As a friend.” Emma admits sadly and tears stream down Snow’s face. 

“She did this to us.” Snow sobs. “I don't know 

“We can agree to try.” Emma 

You're not fumbling 

* * *

"Mom." Emma sobs the word against Snow's chest and Snow's eyes fill with glassy tears that stream down her brusied face. “I’m sorry.” Emma sobs the words. “I’m so sosrry.”

“Emma.” Snow sniffles, crying right along with her. “My beautiful Emma.”

“There’s so much I wanted to say. And when I thought that I’d never get to say them I-” She chokes, 

“I took that blanket you knitted me everywhere I went for the first ten years of my life. I got teased a lot as a kid and then started only sleeping with it at night.

I still do.” She admits, embarrassment coloring her tone. “I didn’t bring it on this trip, but I do miss it.”

“Everytime I thought of my parents, I’d try to imagine your face. 

  
  


“I’ll go get Regina to-.” Emma abruptly cuts herself off. “I’m sorry, you probably don’t want to see her.

Snow looks thoughtful for a moment before meeting Emma’s eyes. “She was in here earlier this morning.” She informs Emma. “She helped them save me I…” Snow swallows thickly, tears blurring her vision. “I saw her for just a moment.”

“She’s changed. She seems so…” Snow’s eyes meet hers. “At peace even though we haven’t found Henry yet.”

“I need to say thank you.”

Emma smiles, and it’s full of so much love for the two women in her life. She sniffles, wiping the last of her tears away as she stands. “I’ll send her in.”

~~~~

Emma runs right into Regina when she exists Snow’s tent. Regina startles but tries to make it look like she hadn’t been waiting all that time as Emma tangles their fingers together, smiling at her.

“H-How..” Reigna trails off, jutting her chin in the direction of Snow’s hut. “How is she?”

Emma’s eyes narrow playfully as she draws Regina closer, lowering her voice. “I should ask you.”

Regina stiffens, giving a derisive snort. “I was in bed this morning, you of all people know that.”

“Yeah, this morning, because you spent half the night comforting me and the other half making sure those fairies didn’t botch the job.”

Regina’s eyes catch Emma’s. “She’s important to you.”

“And to you.” 

Regina sighs, eyes lowered. “I have no right to see-”

“She asked that I send you in.”

* * *

“Afraid of looking silly?” Emma berrates.

Regina scoffs. “I don't care what people think.”

“Then you wouldn't let a bunch of peeping fairies discourage you from dancing with me, right?”

Regina folds her arms, raising an eyebrow. “We don't have any music.”

Emma shrugs dismissively. “We don't need music.”

“ _Emma_ .” Regina sighs tiredly.

“ _Regina_ .” Emma echoes her tone. Regina huffs and Emma rolls her eyes and stands. “Come on.” She says, holding out an inviting hand. “Dance with me.”

Regina eyes the hand wearily, brows furrowing as she glances up at Emma's glittering eyes and her soft smile.

She looks away, rolling her eyes and reluctantly tangling her fingers with Emma's. 

Emma's smile widens, helping her up and smoothly slipping an arm around Regina's waist, pressing them closer together. Regina wraps her arms around Emma's shoulders and Emma's arms tighten appreciatively around her waist. 

“It seems we have an audience.” Regina says, a note of self consciousness in her tone. Around the small clearing, they realize that everyone is watching them dance.

“And yet, even if we’re the center of everyone’s attention…” Emma shrugs coyly. “All I see is you.” “When you’re dancing, the world takes notice.”

With a gentle pressure on her back, Emma guides Regina through an elegant twirl across the dance floor and brings her back into her arms. 

Regina leans her head against Emma’s shoulders, snuggling close.

“What now?” Regina asks and Emma chuckles and starts an easy rhythmic waltz, one Regina follows smoothly. “Where did you learn how to dance?” Regina asks, a note of impressed in her voice.

Emma twirls her away and then back into her arms, pausing so

“My third foster home.” Emma admits quietly. “We lived next to an old couple who loved waltzing. The old man taught me.”

“I never learned how to dance until I got to Storybrooke, believe it or not.”

Emma's eyes widen. “Now that's a surprise, your majesty.”

“I got to Storybrooke and suddenly the fake memories were there. They're like rusted memories,” she smiles tentatively. “But at least I'm holding my own here with you.”

Emma laughs and it's breathtaking and charming as she moves to twirl Regina again. “I bet you practiced a lot to keep them.”

“No actually.” Regina frowns. “Mother thought it trivial since she'd had my marriage arranged and I no longer had to impress anyone at court. And since the memories in Storybrooke were made up I-” she pauses, eyes locking with Emma's. “I've never really danced with anyone like this before.

Emma's eyes soften and she stops dancing to

“I'm sorry you went through that Regina.” She says meaningfully. “Thank you for letting me be your first.”

Regina smiles, eyes crinkling as she tucks her head against Emma's neck. “I'm glad you were too.” 

\-----

Emma smiles faintly. “Do you think that your younger self would have befriended someone like me?” Emma asks softly, almost a whisper, like she was afraid of voicing the question.

Regina's eyes soften and she cups Emma's cheek, earning her a faint smile. “The girl I was would have befriended you in a heartbeat, Emma Swan.”

Emma's smile is blinding and contagious and Regina's heart flutters when she moves forward to press a sweet kiss to her lips. It's a kiss that lingers, filling Regina's heart with so many emotions bursting at the seams.

“I think I'd have liked you instantly,” Emma admits, twirling a lock of Regina's hair. “You're incredible.”

Snow and Regina reconcile as Snow tends to an unconscious David

“I...I should have been more aware.” Snow says softly. “I just…” She shrugs. “He was my father, I…”

“I know.” Regina replies, the edge to her voice missing as her eyes meet Snow’s. “It...it was wrong of me to expect you to know.”

“If I knew what he’d done to you.”

“No point on dwelling on it now.”

“We’ve been so callous towards each other.” “I’m sorry.”

  


~~~~~~

Meeting to discuss Emma's journey into the shadow realm 

“Yes, Queen Clarion and Lord Milori. Pan murdered them.”

“They were Lady Bell’s parents.” 

“Tinkerbell’s a product of true love?”

“Yes.”

“Just like Emma.”

“That’s why Pan’s taken a special interest in the Savior.”

“He wanted Tinkerbell’s heart and Henry’s heart.”

“Except he’s discovered a better way.”

“Henry’s mothers also share true love, they’re both very powerful witches with Emma being a product of true love.”

“Pan had to test them.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s been trying to directly interfere with your magic.”

“The first time he tried pulling Henry’s heart out, something stopped him, shocked him.”

“Or making it become a physical manifestation.” 

“If he needed a true love couple why didn’t he simply target Snow White and her Prince?”

“He needed a magical true love couple.”

“One with a link to their son’s belief magic.”

“You’re tied quite intrinsically to Henry. Both of you. And Pan has discovered this.”

~~~~~

Approval for shadow realm adventure 

“It's risky.” Vidia interjects, eyes finding her leader’s. “What if it's a trap?”

“She has a point.” Tinkerbell frowns thoughtfully. “If Pan discovers our whereabouts this could spell disaster for our coven.”

“It's not a trap.” Emma says sternly. “I know it's Henry.”

“We can’t risk our safety on your feeling.” Vidia hisses, Tinkerbell places a calming hand on her shoulder.

“Even so, we don't have enough pixum for the both of you to pass into the shadow realm. You have to decide which of you is going to perform this daring rescue.”

~~~~

Regina takes Emma to Fairy Cove

~~

“What is this place?” Emma asks breathlessly.

“Fairy Cove.”

“It’s…beautiful.”

  
"Mmhm," Regina agreed absently shifting a second later to drape herself across Emma’s lap, arms loosely placed around the blonde’s shoulders. "I thought I’d bring you here to take the edge off a bit…” At Emma’s frown Regina hastily adds. “We’re both stressed out. We deserve a break from practicing magic and being gawked at by prepubescent and senile fairies alike.” 

“Oh? Is that the only reason?” Emma smiled coquettishly. “Or did you bring me here to take advantage of me?” 

“My, aren’t we full of ourself?” 

“I’d rather be full of something else, if you get my drift.”

“As crass as ever, Sheriff Swan.”

“What can I say? I live to please.” 

Grinning, Regina leaned down to appreciatively lay gentle kisses against Emma's lips.

Emma immediately adjusted to the position, sliding heated palms up Regina’s sides, enjoying the shape and feel of smooth curves and water-slicked flesh as she tugged her closer. 

Regina shifted again and Emma felt slim hips slide against hers when Regina’s knees slid past her thighs to straddle her hips, bringing them flush against each other.

Full breasts pressed deliciously against Emma’s and she almost had to bite her lip to withhold her tiny whimper. A glint to dark eyes lets her know that she wasn’t really successful and she grins stupidly as she leans in and kisses the smirk right off of those kiss-bruised lips and settles possessive palms against the underside of Regina’s ass.

Regina hums throatily, delving back in for another kiss and another, sliding fingers into blonde hair and anchoring Emma’s mouth against hers when Emma groaned against her lips.

“Regina.” The breathless cadence that Emma’s voice makes on her name has Regina clenching her thighs over Emma’s

Emma grins up at her when the kiss breaks. "That was nice," Emma exhales. "Really, really nice."

She got a wicked smile in return. "Yes, it was," Regina agreed. "Unfortunately, as much as I’d like to go on exploring, we have to get some rest."

* * *

Shadow realm adventure 1

“Come back to me.” Regina requests, voice breaking on the last word. “Or _ else _.” It's laced with so much worry, a plea for Emma's safe return poorly masked in a stern threat.

Emma smiles, a tiny thing that wobbles at the edges of her lips as she struggles to keep her composure. She leans in, pressing her forehead to Regina's, shivering at the intensity held in those beautiful dark eyes. “I promise.” She whispers fiercely as those tears in Regina's eyes spill messily down her cheeks.

Regina nods, shaky hands tangling in Emma's hair as she tilts her head to meet Emma in a desperate kiss. Emma returns her intensity with equal fervor, uncaring of their fairy audience as a sob catches in Regina's throat, breaking their lips apart.

“I'm holding you to that, Savior.” She says shakily and Emma nods, swiping gruffly at those tears brimming in her own eyes as she steps back.

“We're ready.” Tinkerbell announces and Emma reluctantly lets go of Regina's hands. She turns on her heels, fear quaking through her body but anticipation making her hands shake even more. “We don't know what you're going to find in there.” Tinkerbell frowns. “Shades are tricky, even more so if you don't know what you're looking for.”

“Let's do this.” She says resolutely, confidence returning for a mere moment. “I'll find Henry.”

\---

Into the world of shadows

Scenes with Neal and Hook 

Emma gasps, the sensation of coming up from underwater making her shudder. She stepped carefully out from behind the wall she'd just materialized from, at a lost when pitch blackness was all that greeted her.

Her heart rate skyrocketed and she shakily bowed at the knees, desperately trying to catch her breath. The fairy emblem Regina had given her burning warmly in her palm gave her the strength she needed to finally stand upright.

She took a deep breath, remembering the countless magical lessons Regina had given to her. Her magic flared softly within her body as she raised a hand to her eyes, muttering the elvish incantation she'd been taught for _ light _.

Immediately, her sight was restored

“M-Mom?” That singular shaky whispered word breaking through the eerie stillness of the dark forest makes Emma's heart leap. She turns around immediately, eyes softening at the tiny head peeking out at her from the underbrush a few feet away.

She pauses, wary of the shadows and their tricks and not sure what to make of the sight. 

It's the first time he's called her that word directly and a part of her marvels at how right it feels.

“Is...is it really you?” He asks hesitantly, fingers tightly clutching a makeshift bow. 

Emma smiles, a shaky thing that trembles around the edges as she holds her arms out to him, sure that this was her son. “Yeah, kid. It's me.”

Henry sobs and with shaky steps that bring him to her, he's in her arms, tears spilling messily down his face.

“I knew you'd come get me.” He says, and it's overjoyed and filled with so much childlike glee. 

“Regina's here too.” She informs him, gently threading her fingers through his messy hair. “We all are.”

She holds him at arms length but he pauses, eyes widening as he looks up at the trees. “We're not safe here.” He says hurriedly, taking her hand. “Follow me!”

“Where are we?”

Henry's little face controls, fear in his dark eyes when he gives his reply. “The Kingdom of the Shades.”

~~~<<<

Henry leads her away from the choking fog, through thick brambles and vines towards the base of tree stretching precariously across a dark river.

She pauses, hesitant as Henry begins to climb the thing. 

“Come on Emma.” He urges. She follows him up the short incline and across the tree towards a jumble of branches that spider out along each other, forming a hollowed out cocoon with a tight circular entrance. 

Henry slips in easily and Emma crouches low, shifting her weight and squeezing herself in after him. She stumbles on a tree root and goes tumbling, landing with an audible thump on her back.

“Ouch.” She groans and Henry giggles, helping her up and dusting her off.

From the inside, the cocoon looked cosy. Light emanated from a string of fairy lights hanging limply upon the corner of the walls, casting a soft glow upon the interior of the makeshift treehouse. And Emma soon discovered that they weren't alone. 

The outline of a person stood at the edge of the room, partially hidden in the shadows by a wall of vines. Emma bristles, automatically going for her sword and once again realizing that it wasn't there. She cursed beneath her breath, eyes finding Henry's who smiled at her and told her not to worry.

“We know her.” He insists. “She's harmless.”

“Is she a shade?” Emma asks 

Young Regina sits daintly upon the

“What's that castle, in the distance?” Emma asks. Henry shrinks a little, scuffing his shoe against the wall. “Henry?” She asks and Henry sighs. 

“I'm not really here.” He says softly, voice quivering. “I'm..” he gestures helplessly towards the castle. “I'm there, in real time. Just like you aren't really here either.”

“That's Pan’s castle?”

“Yup, and the only way to get in is to 

“What were those things out there?”

“The souls of the lost.” 

“But as we call them - shadows.”

“Where is the castle?” Emma asks. “In real time I mean.”

“It's at the edge of the forest.”

~~~~~~

The tale of Wendy

“I bought Henry here.” The girl says, sticking a hand out at Emma. “Hi, I'm Wendy Darling.”

_____

“We know about Peter Pan, Tinkerbell and Wendy. What we don't know is the true reason behind it.”

Wendy's the first person he ever brought to the island. 

“How did he manage to do that?”

“A fairy.” Wendy smiles sadly. “A spritey lost fairy trying to save her family from ruin.”

“Tinkerbell.” Emma says, realization dawning on her face. 

“Yes.” Wendy smiles sadly. “She lured us here under the guise of adventure and pixie dust that could make us fly. We were terribly naive.” 

“He killed her parents, murdered half of her fairy coven.”

“He did.” Wendy’s eyes cloud over, a deep sorrow like Emma’s never seen before displayed in her brilliant green eyes. 

“How did she escape?”

“Pixum, every last drop of it they'd had stored. She wanted to rescue me but there was no time, I told her I'd be a distraction, after all, Peter did like it when I showed him mortal magic.”

“She was against it but I guess her first in command swayed her. She attempted a very complex spell with Vidia that sealed her coven off from the rest of the dark forest, Pan couldn't get in and they couldn't get out.”

“Until recently.” Emma says and Wendy's eyes widen. 

“Exactly how long has it been since 1968?” 

“It's been fifty years.” 

“Fifty.” Wendy sinks to her knees. “Did my brothers ever escape the island? Did they -” she hiccups, eyes watering. “I know time is strange here, but I never thought it would have been so many years since I…”

“They're working for Pan.”

“John and Micheal are his right hand boys.”

Wendy's fists clench. “Our parents must be…”

“I'm sorry.” Emma says, at a loss for words.

“I remember the night I met him as if it were only yesterday.” Wendy sighs. “He seemed so adventurous…and I wanted that, desperately. He said that my heart, my belief can power the island and save his friends.”

“He went mad with power, seducing people to the island and using them to do his bidding.”

“Without me his power source has run out and he needs to refuel.”

“But how are you still here, in this place.” Emma asks. “How are you still talking to us?”

Wendy smiles sadly. “My body is still out there...probably in a state of decay at this point but my spirit…” she clenches her fists, a fierce fire blazing in her eerie green eyes. “I refuse to rest until Pan sees retribution for what he has done.”

“Oh kid.” Emma sighs, pulling Henry into a shaky side hug. Henry clings to her side like a koala bear and Emma dips forward, pressing a messy kiss to his forehead.

Wendy smiles at them, touching Henry lightly on the shoulder. “I'm sorry that you've all been dragged into this. If I was stronger, if I'd known how to properly use my magic, I'd have handled Pan myself.”

“That's where Henry comes in.”

The Heart of a true believer won't work anymore, otherwise either one of his Lost Boys could have fulfilled the magical demand. What he needs is something else. 

His magic was warped when he started using it for evil. 

So instead of the pure heart of a true believer he would need someone who's heart was black, someone tainted, a true believer tainted by darkness

Emma's eyes find the young version of Regina huddled tightly in the corner and her heart drops.

“He wants Regina.”

Wendy nods grimly. “Yes.” Emma's hands tremble and she 

“And he knew the perfect way to lure her here.”

“By using me.” Henry squeaks. 

“How is a young version of Regina trapped in this place?”

“Pan traps your innocence. Your purity. If that is all that you are like Henry and myself, then here is where you end up and the broken shell on the outside is useless.”

“But if you've been tainted, and twisted then extracting your innocence is easily done.”

“Which means that Regina's been here before.”

“Not directly.” Wendy says. “Through dreams.”

“It was the work of her mother.”

“And Regina has constantly rejected that part of herself.”

“Cora wanted to create an Evil Queen in the truest sense - before Pan got impatient and ripped her shadow from her body. Then she became his pawn.”

“So the shade Regina keeps seeing is real? Cora is here?” 

“Partially.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Everyone who becomes a shade or a former version of themselves ceases to exist the moment Pan’s power source runs out.”

“Pan wants Regina's tainted heart and he'll stop at nothing to get it.”

~~~~~

With Henry's guidance, Emma makes it back towards the rock wall where she'd materialized from. 

“I still don't understand why I can't just take you out of here with me.”

Henry smiles eyes flirting towards Regina and Wendy. “I have good company.”

Pan and his shadows find them and Pan nearly kills Emma

* * *

His movements blur and in seconds he's before her, reaching into her chest and squeezing the organ behind her ribs. Emma splutters, falling helplessly to her knees as blood gathers in her mouth. Pan’s smile is lecherous. 

“We could have been a great team.” He laments sorrowfully. “I could have groomed you, groomed your magic to suit.” 

Regina's frantic shouts in her mind cut across Emma’s thoughts and white hot pain ripples through her chest. “Pull her out dammit! He's hurting her! Emma! _ Emma _!”

“Leave my mother alone!” Henry’s tiny shriek fills Emma’s ears and a bright light engulfs them as she’s physically pushed into the wall she’d previously phased through.

An image fills her mind as her body struggles to regain consciousness. An image of Henry with his starry pendant and a shadowed Wendy holding their own against Pan’s weakened shadow. The image grows fuzzy like a bad connection on a grainy television and Emma’s eyes fly open in the real world. She splutters, inhaling a sharp bought of air as the image of Regina’s teary reddened face comes into focus and suddenly she’s begin crushed in a frantic hug. 

“You’re safe. You made it back.” Regina’s shaky voice constantly reassures and Emma relaxes a little, the fear of being killed overshadowed for now. Tinkerbell and her fairies get to work, cleansing her body with the wonders of their fairy magic and severing her connection to the world of shadows. The rest of their chatter sound so far away and distorted to Emma’s ears, like she was deep beneath water desperately trying to resurface. Regina presses kiss after teary kiss to Emma’s pale face chasing away the last remaining vestiges of fear from her mind as the warmth of Regina’s body and the presence of their magic soothes her. Emma tangles a hand with Regina’s as her vision of the room spins and she slumps limply into Regina's arms, unconscious.

~~~

Emma awakens after Pan chokes her

It’s a number of hours later when Emma regains consciousness. She sits bolt upright, eyes frantically darting around the room before her body relaxes. She was no longer in the fairy war tent but back in her tent tucked comfortably on her bed. Regina was at her side, magic sweeping along her hands and warming Emma’s as she slept. 

There was that crease between her brows, quite telling of her distress even in sleep. Emma eases her body closer, wincing when the left side of her chest throbs. Her hand flew to the spot, shuddering when she recalls Pan’s icky shadow hand buried deep in her chest. She falls shakily onto her elbow, leaning down to brush a lock of dark hair away from Regina’s face and press a lingering kiss on her forehead.

Regina stirs at her touch, eyes fluttering as she slowly awakens. Emma smiles when their eyes meet and Regina gasps softly, hand rising to gently caress Emma’s cheek as Emma leans into her touch.

Emma tangles their fingers, raising them to press a kiss to their glowing hands. 

Regina’s face burns and a bashful expression Emma’s never seen before flits across her face before she self consciously turns her head away.

“I just needed some reassurance that you were still...here.” 

Emma frowns. “Couldn't my breathing confirm that.” 

Regina stiffens against her, eyes sorrowful. “That…” Her voice trembles. “You don’t know how many times that stopped.” She sniffles. So many times “You stopped breathing, Emma. And I...I -”

“I…” Emma’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry.”

“For almost dying on me? Or for almost breaking your promise.”

“Both.”

Regina inhales sharply. “I almost lost you.” 

“But you didn’t.”

“But that bastard came close to taking you away from me.”

“I’m ready to talk to Tinkerbell, where are -”

“Asleep. Most likely. But they’ll be awake soon. It’s almost dawn.”

“D-Dawn.” Emma stammers. “How long was I out?”

“Too long.”

“Almost an entire day.”

~~~~~

Emma tells Tink about Henry Wendy and Pan

Emma tells them about her adventure in the Shadow realm, about her run ins with the shadows that litter the place and what Henry and Wendy had dubbed the Shadow Kingdom.

“Wendy.” Tinkerbell says, a note of despair in her tone. “She’s alive?”

Emma shakes her head sadly. “Her soul is trapped. She can’t rest unless…”

“Unless we defeat that monster.” Tinkerbell clenches her fists, eyes heavy with remorse. 

“He told me where to find his body.” 

“I had him...I had him in my arms.”

“Pan is too strong. Henry's resisting him as best as he can.”

~~~~~~~

After Emma returns from the shadow realm

“I'm sorry.” Tinkerbell says. “I was instrumental in you ending up here...again.”

Regina's eyes narrow. “I don't understand.”

“Remember when we met? That was no accident. Peter asked me to befriend you, to bring you to Neverland with me. He said if I did that one task, he'd let my family go”

“But I grew to like you, Regina. The girl that you once were was still within you even though you'd been relegated to living with that King. Darkness hadn't yet consumed your soul. You were so pure...untainted.”

“And I you were my only friend.” Regina admits. 

Tinkerbell smiles sadly. “I know.”

“You used me.” You left me alone 

Tinkerbell shakes her head sadly. “I had a job to do but the closer we got, the more I could feel myself falling for you.”

“Bell.” Regina says softly. 

“I know, pathetic right?”

“Is that why you left so suddenly?”

Tinkerbell nods gravely. “I had to find another way, I couldn't let him harm you.”

“But i'd taken too long. The distortion in time across the island had begun and by the time I returned to pixiehollow, Pan had grown too impatient.”

“He murdered your family.”

Tinkerbell’s eyes harden, hands balling into fists as she glances at Regina over her shoulder. “And I trapped Wendy in the shade kingdom.”

~~~~~

“Because how the hell can henry truly love you?” Snow spits out.

\-----

Snow and Regina in Pixie Hollow

There's about five feet of space between them and they're both as stiff as a board.

“You saved us.” Snow says, childish admiration burning brightly in her eyes. Emma's never seen that before, an admiration that makes her look as naive as that girl from Henry’s book she’d once been. “Thank you.”

Regina's eyes hold hers briefly before she looks away. She nods stiffly, but even from this distance Emma can recognize the semblance of a smile threatening to curve the corners of her lips. Instead, she abruptly clears her throat and breaks Snow’s gaze.

“I did it for my son.” She replies and Snow’s expression falls briefly before something like resignation takes its place.

“I know.” 

~~~~~~

Pixie Hollow with Emma and Snow

And Emma aches at this distance between them, at the way her mothers eyes falter before she too looks away.

\-----

Regina and Snow rconcile in Pixie Hollow

“I'm sorry about everything I said.” Snow sobs. “Henry does love you. _ I _love you, Emma -”

“Enough.” Regina says stiffly. Snow sniffles, but obeys and Emma's eyes widen when she pulls snow into a brief hug. 

“I'm sorry too.” Regina says and it's soft and pained and tears fill Emma's eyes too. 

\-----

Plan to defeat Pan

“You’re right.” Emma’s eyes widen, never once daring to hope that she’d ever hear those words leave Regina’s lips. She blinks owlishly, still trying to process it all and Regina smiles for a brief moment. It's one of resignation, but no less beautiful or enchanting to Emma's fluttering heart at the pleasant cadence it brings to Regina's face. But the smile falters as she continues softly. “I know how this all ends. I know how to defeat Pan.”

\-----

“Take care of H-Henry.” Regina chokes out and Emma sobs, gritting her teeth as her trembling hand fists in Regina’s tunic.

“Don’t you dare talk like that.” Emma hisses, tears spilling down her face. “You’re not leaving us.”

!!!!

Tinker bell tells her Pan wants a corrupted believer 

A hopeless heart. 

\----

“I thought he wanted Henry's heart?”

“He wants the heart of a true believer...corrupted by darkness.”

“But that means-” Emma's eyes widen. “No.” She says fiercely. “Regina, no.”

“It's already been decided.” Regina replies like it's not up for discussion and Emma clenches her fists.

“Like _ hell _it is.” She hisses, storming over to point an accusing finger against Regina’s chest. “You...you’re so damn -”

“- selfish, _ I know _.” Regina finishes for her, taking Emma’s shaky hands into her own and clasping them tightly against her chest.

Emma shakes her head, tears brimming in her eyes. “I can’t let you do that. I can’t let you sacrifice yourself. I can’t -”

“Even if it means us saving Henry?” Regina asks and Emma falters. Regina’s hands release hers and drift to her face, gently cupping them. “He’s the reason we’re here in the first place. Henry comes first.”

Emma’s lips tremble and those tears in her eyes spill down her face. She sniffles as Regina leans forward, closing the distance between them to press a kiss to her salty cheek. Emma’s hands tangle in her blouse, holding her tightly. 

“No.” She says, eyes steely as she pulls back to look at Regina. “There’s always a third option. And I’ll find it. I _ promise _ . I’ll find it and I’ll save you _ and _our son.”

Regina smiles and it’s fond but resigned as she presses their foreheads together. “Why are you so terribly stubborn, Emma Swan?”

Emma smiles sheepishly, lightly cupping the hands Regina’s pressed to her face as she gives an exaggerated wink. “It’s part of my charm.”

Regina chuckles, a sound that tingles along Emma’s spine as she leans forward and their lips meet. It’s a longing kiss, a desperate kiss meant to reassure each other, holding all of these giants emotions between them. Emma’s heart is so full it’s almost bursting. Regina’s tongue glides over hers and Emma presses herself closer, hands rising to tangle in Regina’s lengthy dark hair.

The emotions in her chest rise like a tidal waves, crashing over her skin and making her heart flutter with electric beats. She loves Regina, loves her so much that just the thought of losing her is unfathomable. 

“I -” She starts as their lips part and Regina’s kisses drift to her cheek. The words are like a calming balm to her soul, rushing towards Regina like Emma’s heart. “I love _ mmph- _” Regina’s mouth covers hers again, cutting off Emma’s sentence.

Regina breaks their kiss, a gentleness to her dark eyes as she caresses Emma’s bruised cheek. 

“Say that to me when we escape this island with our son.” Regina requests, a desperation to her voice that echoes deeply within Emma’s chest. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Emma nods, returning her kisses with equal fervor.

Regina breaks away from the kiss to hold the Savior at arm’s length, hooded eyes appraising her with a worshiping sort of gaze. It warms Emma’s skin and her face reddens. 

“Do you promise?” Regina asks softly. There’s a vulnerability to her tone, one Emma’s giddy at witnessing so publicly but so humbled at experiencing. Regina trusts her, a trust that feels so complete and so right that it’s a bit daunting if Emma allows herself to think about the depth of her own feelings. They’ve truly hit a milestone here and Emma wants to commemorate it with a secret rendezvous in Pixie Hollow’s most romantic outlet. But she settles for pressing her body to Regina’s and nodding enthusiastically at her. Regina’s eyes soften, a smile playing along the corners of her mouth that makes her look so utterly enchanting as Emma lovingly traces the bow of her lower lip. 

“I promise.” She whispers fiercely and Regina leans back into her, once again covering her lips, reassured for the moment.


	8. Endgame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> editing this too! apologies

The figure takes another step, the air around him crackling with dormant energy like there are hidden tendrils of darkness lashing around him.

She moves in a flash, a dazzling dance of death, her daggers streaking through the night air

Devastation yawns like a pit inside of her, black and bottomless. Hot tears slip down her cheek and she chokes back a sob.

“Ah, ah. One more step and your darling Savior gets a facial.” The Cora shadow threatened, a lazy palm raised in the direction of Emma’s slumped bloodied body.

Regina gritted her teeth and remained still, seething at her mother’s tight control. She felt the icy tendrils of fear and panic sweep up her chest and settle rigidly against her heart as she stared at those fading sea-green eyes.   
  


“Yes I pried on that fragile belief of yours.”

“When you first got to the island you believed, quite intrinsically, that you would find your son. And so, events unfolded that led him to you no matter where we happened to keep him. So we decided to lay a trap, fake little Henry’s death and make you  _ believe _ that he had died.”

“And it worked quite well. Because although you resumed your desperate searching, in your hearts you believed him dead.”

“This island runs on belief, it thrives off of it and

“What use would I have for a pure heart? Henry needed to be tainted.”

“And your heart my dear Regina. I couldn’t let that little light keep spreading now could I?”

Cora plunged her heart into Regina’s chest.

She extracted Regina’s heart like it was a mere business transaction as she gestured to the organ. 

A white line ran the length of Regina’s heart. The white light seemed to meld into the dark red almost blackened areas, turning them white along.

“Now, dear Savior. Since we already tried this, I suggest we do it again

~~~

“Regina, NO!” Emma choked out. The former queen’s dark eyes arrested hers then, seemingly apologetic smile that almost broke Emma’s heart. She reached out to Regina’s tightened fist. “Please, don’t.”

Regina breathed out deeply then, intertwining Emma’s fingers with her own.

“Regina!” Emma lurched forward to stop her but suddenly found herself frozen in a whir of their own magic. She growled and twisted and turned but couldn’t undo the simple spell that had her frozen to the cave floor.

“Regina.” She called again.

A palm against her cheek had her eyes fluttering shut as tears pooled against the corner of her eyes. Emma swallowed dryly as Regina’s hand curled against her cheek, thumb swiping away the tears that pooled in those expressive emerald eyes.

  
  


Vines from the surrounding trees sprung out and wound around their hands and legs affixing them to the shadow of the trees.

“Mmph!” Came a muffled protest from Mary-Margaret and her Prince. 

“Regina.” Emma cried desperately but the former queen simply ignored her, plunging her hand deep into her own chest to extract the heart she already knew was too blackened to be worthy of a love like the Savior’s.

What she didn’t expect was the white line of magic that was now tethered around the organ. It went around the heart and was woven deep into the red lines of every vein.

“Hand it over!” Pan’s voice was obnoxiously loud in the surrounding cave.

Regina found herself reverently tracing the white lines. They pulsed and glowed and the blackened parts around them almost seemed to be melting into the very essence of the white.

“You can’t have what doesn’t belong to you.”

“It belongs to me.” Emma growled, hands absorbing the dual colored magic that had her frozen just a moment before as she took a few steps that brought her in front of Regina.

“There’s a reason why only you could see me.” Pan smiles sharply. “You’re the one I’ve been after.”

“I…” Regina flinches, mind going back 

“You withstood electrocution.” Pan says idly. “He was supposed to kill you but your heart protected you.”

  
  


Regina's body was placed next to Wendy’s, vines holding her in place. 

Emma's limbs quake as she tries to stand, electricity and fire rippling through her body the more she tries to resist. Henry stumbles towards her, falling to his knees.

  
  


“Regina.” Emma cups her face, trembling hand reaching up to tug on that singular white magical string attaching them to each other. Those dark eyes swivel to meet hers, and Emma shivers, tears welling in her eyes as Regina's empty ones stare straight through her.

Darkness against Regina's skin flares, consuming Emma. Emma cries out, tiny welts appearing on her skin as Regina's magic levitates them both off the raised platform.

Pan’s maniacal laughter sounds in the distance, echoing through the trees and shaking the walls of the ancient castle on its hinges. 

Emma's family battle the shades below, movements swift and slow as the reminants of the time warp issue forth over them.

“Regina.” Emma calls again, pressing her body to Regina's. Those eyes don't even acknowledge her as Regina's head hangs limply like the rest of her body. “We didn't come this far to lose now.” Emma sobs.

The shades dance in the wavering moonlight, stronger, faster and more deadly and Emma's family are apprehend one by one.

“Any lasts words, Savior?” Pan asks. The Heart of the pixie hollow tree burns a bright green behind him casting his features in shadows and Emma's resolve strengthens.

Calling upon the magic, she carefully directs it to her hands, concentrating on Regina's pale face as she presses her hand to Regina's chest. The magic makes it slide easily into her flesh, past muscle and bone and straight towards the heart burning a brilliant green. She grasps onto the organ and another flare of electricity quakes through her body nearly bringing her to her knees. She clutches onto Regina's shoulder with the other hand while her right hand remains delicately cupping the organ powering Pan’s tree.

“It's no use.” Pan goads, eyes glittering with madness. “I've already won.”

Tears blur Emma's eyes as she meets Henry.

“Don't give up mom.” He says softly, eyes blurring with tears. “Believe in her like I believe in the  _ both  _ of you.”

Henry wraps an arm around both of his mothers’ waist, pressing his tiny face to Emma's chest. Emma brushes a shaky hand through his dark hair and he smiles up at her, giving her the rest of courage that she needs by pressing his hand to the one she has buried deep into Regina's chest.

A sensation like no other floods into Emma's veins as Henry's eyes alight with magic, a very familiar magic belonging to her and Regina. Emma pulls her shaky hand out of Regina's chest and the organ revealed makes her gasp.

There in her palm was Regina's fully darkened heart, except for the jumbled strings of white magical threads attached to it leading directly into Emma and Henry's chests.

“See?” Henry says triumphantly. “She's not all bad. We're all a part of each other.”

Emma's lips tremble and she presses a kiss to Henry's forehead, marveling at the sight of the Heart powering Pan’s tree. 

“How can we help her?” Emma asks. “Why is her heart still powering his tree?”

Henry smiles. “Because you need to wake her up.”

“No!” Pan hisses and in seconds his minions have Emma and Henry surrounded. “Give that heart to me.” 

“You can't have it.” Henry growls. “It doesn't belong to you.”

“It belongs to me.” Emma says, eyes meeting Henry. “To us.”

Henry nods and his eyes gleam, a fierce white as he raises a small fist, channeling magic into his palms. “Go on Ma. I've got this.” He instructs, a wide smile splitting his face. “Go wake Mom.”

Emma nods shakily, carefully replacing the organ into Regina's chest. Regina groans, body shuddering as more magic is syphone out of her.

“Come back to me.” Emma requests, delicately pressing her mouth to Regina's parted lips.

The effect is instant. Magic hums against her lips, vibrating her entire body with a wild sort of energy that floods out into the air around them. Regina gasps against her mouth, eyes fluttering weakly as they lose that awful darkness and are replaced with the warmth of that dark amber Emma's come to adore.

“Em...ma?” Regina says, dazed and confused. Emma sobs her relief, scooping Regina into a hug as their magic dispels the remaining vestiges of darkness clinging to Regina's body. The vines retreat as if burned by the touch of their magic and Regina falls limply into Emma's arms, taking them both to the ground in their knees.

“I thought I'd lost you.” Emma admits tearfully. Regina's arms tighten around her, tears spilling down her face.

“You've got me.” She whispers. “I'm here.”

“Hey lovebirds, I don't mean to interrupt but-” Vidia’s labored voice cuts right through their moment as she sends a sword Emma's way. “we need backup.”

\---

\-----

Tinkerbell hisses. “We bought the serum. Drink it and join your son.”

“No Emma.” Snow sobs. “You can't.”

David pulls Mary Margaret into a tight embrace. “They're the only ones who can.”

“Mom.” Emma says gently, startling Snow.

Regina and Emma go to rescue Henry in the Shadow world.

  
  


\-----

“He couldn't get through to me so he took her…I made a vow years ago to protect them all. They took me in when I had nothing.”

When the Darlings lost their kids, all they had left was me. 

“Wendy still looks up to you.” Henry says seriously. “You're more to her than just Pan’s henchman.”

  
  


“I'm deeply sorry… for everything.”

He looked as young as Wendy did then, a mass of wild hair and striking blue eyes and a bright childish smile on his face. “You saved us.”

A drop of golden sun

A fragment of the luminous moon 

Dust from the brightest star

Darkness swept over Neverland, jagged lines of bright foaming light appearing on Peter's body. He laughs, a sound that sends dread skittering down Emma's spine as she clings to her family.

“Henry.” Emma says. “You have to believe.”

Henry nods, lips trembling as his hands shake. Regina enfolds him in her arms, pressing her forehead to this. “We'll do this together.” She says gently, lifting a magical hand to Henry's. “My little prince.”

Henry smiles warmly at the name and nods, tears forming in his eyes as he lifts his other hand now teaming with purple and golden magic towards Emma. Emma exhales a shaky breath and grabs onto him.

The shadows swooping over them disperse in a flash of inky black waves that sweep over the dead forest, the earth silent as Pan’s chaotic actions still.

Emma looks around, confused.

Droplets were frozen in midair.

Henry gasps, pointing just up ahead. “It's Wendy.”

Wendy smiles and leads them towards the tree.

“We're back in the Shadow Kingdom.” Henry explains. 

  
  


They return the emblems to the tree of life and are thrusted back into time.

Henry looks out!” Emma cries as the bough of the tree breaks off and is sent careening towards them. Pan freezes on the other side of the clearing, murder in his eyes.

“Attack them!” He hisses and at once, all the shadows of the night spring upon them. 

“Of course there would be like two fucking football fields worth of space between us and the stupid tree!” Emma hisses, kicking at empty air. Regina's eyes meet hers pointedly and Emma's eyes widen as she glances at Henry. “Uh, I mean -”

Henry holds up a hand. “Before you chew Emma out you might wanna look at this…”

  
  


In a swirl of black, four shadows materialize at the halfway point between them and the tree.

“Neal! Hook!” Emma cries, recognition flooding her face as they lightly step into view. “What are you-”

“Afraid that we have no time for questions, Luv.” Hook grimaces, body jerking like a marionette when he walks. 

Emma's eyes meet Neal’s. “He knows you came here so he sent us...you so understand what's going on...right?”

“Rufus.” Henry gasps as a boy comes into view, a shadowed blade materializing in his hand.

The final person stepped lightly into view and Regina went stock still, the hand in Emma's tensing.

“Mother.” She says, the words falling dryly from her lips. “What on earth are you doing here?”

Cora smiles, a wide charming thing. “He's out there so we're tasked with stopping you. In here.”

  
  


Gold magic crackles unsteadily at Henry's fists as his fearful eyes meet Emma's. “We have to get to the tree.”

Emma nods, determination filling her eyes as she takes a protective stance in front of their little family. “We will, kid.”

“Oh isn't this precious.” Cora coos, eyes cutting straight through Regina's. “You found another to fight your battles once again, dear?”

Regina grits her teeth. “

  
  


“No attack.” Rufus hisses and Cora, Neal and Hook’s eyes turning a chilling black.

“I'm…” Hook struggles, throat bobbing jerking as he fights against the magic flooding from Rufio’s hands. “So sorry.”

Neal closes his eyes. “I'm sorry too.”

Emma's hands tremble as she briefly closes her eyes and tugs at the strings of magic she can detect just below her skin. The emblem around her neck glows, like daylight flickering across her skin and her magic responds in kind, infusing her with that ancient magic she's come a bit familiar with. She summons the image of a double edged sword in her mind's eye, fingers twirling in the air as she crafts it with an accuracy she never knew she possessed. Within seconds it shines before her, a brilliant sword singing with magic like a hollow in reality. The blade flickers and burns, Emma's fierce determination and need to protect her family sharpening its edge as she holds it towards her opponents. She briefly meets Regina's dark eyes, and there's pride in there, a fondness and approval that makes her cheeks warm even against the chilling shadow realm air.

Regina conjures her weapon next, a flaming purple bow and arrow combination appearing on her body with a flash as the moon emblem darkens the tip of every arrow. 

“So cool.” Henry marvels at his moms, jerking himself back to reality when Regina tugs him in at her side. He nibbles on his lower lip, eyes darting between his moms and their glowing emblems and down to the one hanging around his neck.

But before he can react, Rufio’s puppets are racing down the incline in a burst of magical speed.

Emma's sword clatters against Neal’s the energy radiating off of him nearly buckling her knees as his sad eyes stare at her from behind that darkness cloaking them in ancient magic that crawls against Emma's skin. 

Hook is behind her in an instant. 

“Duck!” He hisses as his right arm swoops towards Emma. She listens, stumbling back as he advances.

“I can't stop myself.” He growls, dark eyes meeting hers. “You know how you're going to have to stop us.”

Emma's sword clatters against Hook’s as he parried her blow, side stepping her with ease and ramming his elbow into her side. Emma crumples with the force of the blow, the breath leaving her lungs as she drops to one knee.

“Come on Swan!” Hook hisses, regretful eyes following her movements. 

“Emma lookout!” Neal hollers as his sword clatters against reginas.

  
  
  
  
  


Emma's so focused on keeping Henry behind her and Regina away from Cora that she doesn't notice when Henry slips away.

She feels the exact moment his emblem activates, calling to hers as he lifts it towards the sky. A shadow stands at his side, a hand placed against his and Emma's heart drops.

“Henry!” She screams at the same time Regina's head jerks in his direction. Another wave of shadows descend upon them, blocking Henry from their view and Emma cries out when they dive at her, scratching and clawing at her skin leaving deep red gashes that burn like liquid fire. 

“LEAVE MY MOMS ALONE!” Henry roars across the clearing and in seconds the magic in Emma's sword meets his and reginas, causing a ripple of stardust which descends from the skies in a swirling gust of wind. It slams into Rufio, stripping him of his power and the rest of the shadows choking Emma and clawing at Regina disperse in a gentle breeze of golden stardust. 

Henry heaves, dropping to his shaky knees as his mothers rush towards him.

“Henry, how, that was -”

“Wendy.” Henry points in the distance, gesturing to the shadow. “She helped me.” that had apparently helped him. 

A little shaky, the Swan-Mills unit make their way across the silent yet eerily calm space between them and the dark shrunken tree. 

  
  


The shadowed figure of Wendy points a kneeled shaky finger beneath the stump and Henry nods.

One by one, they take the emblems off, placing them within the parts of the tree 

Rumple Emma and Henry goodbye to Neal. Regina puts Cora in her place 

* * *

“I'm sorry about your friend, Wendy.”

Henry nods sadly. “She didn't deserve to die.”

“A lot of people didn't. But we can't let their sacrifices be in vain.”

“She taught me how to use my belief magic.” Henry smiles. “I never thought I'd be able to channel it like you and ma do. I have so much to learn.”

“Bell can teach you.”

“It's the least I can do after you're relocating us to storybook.”

“Storybrooke.”

“The island of Neverland is no more.”

“It's kind of sad. But also so relieving.”

“We can build a new coven.”

~~~~~

  
  


They kiss slowly, gently. Regina tastes like moonlight and longing and every second of it is magical, overwhelming. 

“I can’t see what lies ahead. It’s still unknown. But I’m not afraid. It’s exhilarating. After all, I’m together with you.”

  
  


~~~~

As the magic's aura permeates Emma’s mind, she smells the coppery reek of blood and the icy, unyielding press of graveyard soil 

As his flesh parts around her hand, the world recedes leaving her immersed in a dark malevolent churn of deathly magic

And then his body simply melts away around it. Into inky wisps of shadow that disperse into the night.

The light intensifies into a brilliant glare like a supernova bursting inside Pan’s chest.

Pan twitches sideways, but the light crashes into him like a hurled javelin, punching a scorched blackened hole into his chest.

The power humming inside her intensifies, thrumming like an electric storm...then a blinding blast of light sears out of her palms.


End file.
